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Dear Casey,

I like Flyslinger's approach a lot where you use the bucktail's natural shape to enhance the silhouette of the fly. Please let me offer a few additional comments on Clousers as I am a big fan.

Take your material from the middle of the bucktail. The hairs at the butt end are too coarse for this tie. Because they are large and hollow they will flare excessively. Save them for grasshoppers, hair poppers and Muddlers. The hairs from the tip are often long, thin and curly and should be saved for patterns that require extreme length. Use the hairs from the middle of the tail. They are straight, easy to work with and their natural taper produces a nicely tapered fly. They are best suited for most Clousers up to about 4".

You can "train" or shape any of your streamer flies, including Clousers, by holding them under very warm or hot running water and then stroking and shaping them until they have the streamlined configuration that you desire. Hold the fly vertical with the head pointing up under the hot water faucett and then shape and stroke them with your fingers until they are exactly as you like them. Then set them aside to air dry on a paper towel. Deep in and crazy tarpon anglers do this with every fly. You can shape 6-8 dozen in an hour.

A few other ideas about Clousers. Omit the body and tail if there is one in the pattern. Tie all the hair on the bend side of the hook. There should be nothing on the other side (the top or dorsal side when you first put the hook in your vise) of the hook but the weighted eyes. If you are tying a 2 color fly then tie in the first color bucktail, then the flash (you are incorporating flash, aren't you?) and then the second color of bucktail. You can use a fly that is white bucktail under root beer krystal flash under tan bucktail or a fly that is white bucktail under lime green krystal flash under olive green bucktail to catch pan fish, trout, bass, stripers, bluefish, bonefish and tarpon. These two color combinations are very effective. You can also tie all chartreuse and all black flies. If you just can't stop your self try black over white or olive over pale pink.

The flies should be tied very sparse so that they will sink quickly and have the appropriate translucency. Resist the temptation to tie them full. They don't need to be very long; a hundred pound tarpon will happily suck in a 4" fly if you put it on the plate. When you have mastered bucktail, try kraft fur.Good luck. Best regards, Bill Lambot

Richard,
As requested. As you can see I am an average fly tier and a less than average photographer.Below are small clousers for pan fish and trout.

Some for stripers, blues and redfish.
Clousers and related patterns for bonefish.

Individual bonefish flies to show more detail.

Tarpon clousers with flashabou bodies on Gamakatsu hooks. These are 4-5" long.
More Tarpon flies.

Favorite Striper clousers.

These patterns are easy and fast to tie, durable and have all caught fish. If you haven't fished clousers before remember to cast more sidearm than straight overhead. There is a basis to the expression "Chuck and Duck". Best regards, Bill Lambot

Casey,
For trout I am usually fishing a floating 444 Cortland DT6, Cortland Sylk DT6 or a floating Wulff Triangle Taper 6 on a bamboo rod. As an act of defiance I get the Wulff TT in screaming fluorescent orange. The trout don't seem to care. I know that this line weight is not currently fashionable and that many trout anglers use a 5 or a 4 weight for their primary rod but I like the versatility of a 6 weight especially for roll casting clousers and other streamers. For stripers a WF Cortland intermediate 9 and for bonefish a WF Cortland tropic Lazer 8 or 9 floater both on a fast 9' plastic rod. I never bring my lovely bamboo rods near saltwater.

The hot water trick is great when you first tie up a batch of flies and also after they have banged around in you fly box and gotten all mashed and crushed and twisted.

The weed guard is just a simple loop of 18-25 lb mono. Its a pain when you're tying but pays off over turtle or manatee grass. I only put them on bonefish or redfish flies. If I'm tying bonefish flies, I'll usually tie a dozen with weed guards and a dozen without. Every redfish fly now gets a weed guard. They are a necessity.

Best regards, Bill Lambot