Tying Tutorial: Murdich Jig Minnow

Since starting to use the Murdich Jig Minnow late this spring, it has become the #1 streamer in my box.  The idea for this fly spawned from a desire to have a Murdich Minnow-style streamer that was weighted to fish deeper, and also ride point-up in the water.  I coined the name Murdich Jig Minnow because, even though a lot of the materials have been changed, it's still a Murdich style minnow at its core.  It's a relatively easy fly to tie, it's a fast tie, has been pretty durable, can be tied in tons of color combinations, and flat out catches fish.  Another positive attribute to this fly is that it can be tied in a variety of sizes.  I typically tie it in a size 6, but have also tied it in size 2 and 1/0.

Hook - DoIt Molds Wacky Jig Hook (size 6)
Thread - 6/0 white
Eyes - dumbbells to match your hook size
Tail - Bucktail and Ripple Ice Fiber
Cheeks - Laser Dub (or your favorite streamer dubbing, Bruiser Blend is a great option)
Body - Ice Dubbing
Extras - permanent markers to add coloration

Start your thread and tie in the dumbbell eyes on the bottom side of the hook near the 30* bend in the jig hook shank.  Seal your thread wraps with some head cement or other glue to help lock them in place.

Tie in a small clump of bucktail extending a little more than a hook length behind the fly.  I prefer to only loosely stack and align the tips to avoid a square looking end to the bucktail.

Tie in your first clump of Ripple Ice Fiber on the side of the shank facing the hook point.  I use Minnow Mix or Pearl for this step when I'm tying a streamer with a white underbelly.  Trim the Ripple Ice Fiber about the same length as the bucktail tips.

The next clump of Ripple Ice needs to be tied in with the butts extending forward at least a hook shank in length.  You'll trim this eventually, but I like to have excess to play with before trimming it.  I use a contrasting color for this step, here, Smelt Blue.  Trim the tips at the rear to be slightly longer than the bucktail and first clump of Ripple Ice Fiber.

Next, add a small clump of Laser Dub/Bruiser Blend to each side of the hook at the tie in point for the Ripple Ice Fiber.  This is a good place to add a hot spot or splash of color, if desired.  The options are pretty endless with this pattern.  Here, I used Pale Pink Laser Dub.

Fold the Ripple Ice material facing forward back over the top of the Laser Dub and tie it down.  You can now trim this extra Ripple Ice Fiber to be about the length of the Laser Dub.

More options, either create a dubbing loop of Ice Dub (as I have done here), or you can make a streamer brush of Ice Dub if you have the tools to make them.  It does save a lot of tying time to have the brush form, and there's very little waste.  I had no brushes left for this demo, so I used a dubbing loop.  The Ice Dub color I used is "Minnow Belly." Pick the brush/loop out a bit before you wrap it.

Wrap the loop/brush forward, tie it off at the eye, whip finish and cut your thread.  I know, this looks like a train wreck right now.  It gets better fast. 

Using a bodkin or a Velcro-type brush, pick some of the fibers on the underside of the fly out.  I do this lightly on the belly.

Trim the belly in two cuts with scissors.  The first cut follows the angle of the jig hook in front of the eyes.  The second cut goes back towards the tail at about the depth of the bottom of the dumbbell eyes.

Again, using your bodkin or brush, more vigorously pick the Ice Dub on the top side of the fly straight up.  It should look like it has an Ice Dub mohawk.

My trim on the top goes from the hook eye on an angle slightly upward in the direction of the hook point.  You can also trim away any "straggler" fibers of Ice Dub shooting out to the sides at this point.  I usually clean them up a little but it's not critical.

If you want to add some more color, now is the time.  For this color combo, I use a pale blue and a black marker.

The end result: a small streamer ready to rock some fish.  This color combo has been my most productive, but I also have done well with white/chartreuse, white/gray, yellow/olive, and white/olive.  The options are pretty limitless considering all the combinations of Ice Dub, Laser Dub, and Ripple Ice. 

Tie up a few in your favorite color combinations and let me know how you do!  This streamer, for me, has caught crappie, largemouth/smallmouth/spotted bass, bluegill, channel cat, gar, warmouth, and skipjack.  I think it will also be a deadly white bass/hybrid striper pattern on the Ohio River if I can get there this fall.