Fly Tying: The Schminnow- Easiest Baitfish Fly?

The Schminnow defines easy and effective fly tying. Originally designed by Norm Zeigler, the Schminnow requires only a few materials and a couple tying steps. And most importantly, it catches fish.

The Schminnow can be used in the salt, freshwater, and anywhere in between. Anything that eats baitfish will eat this fly. It’s very easy to tie, meaning we can crank a bunch of these out at once and customize them in any way we want.

In this post, we’ll talk through materials and tying steps for the Schminnow, perhaps the ultimate combination of easy to tie and highly effective fly patterns.

Schminnow Materials

Streamer Hook (6 – 1/0)
- For the hook, we can use pretty much any sort of wide-gap streamer hook. Stinger hooks are great, and if you’re targeting salty critters with this fly just be sure to use a saltwater-resistent hook so it doesn’t rust over time.
Dumbbell or Beadchain Eyes
- The style of eyes is your choice! If you want this fly to slide under the surface, go with beadchain eyes. If you want it to plunge deeper and have more of a jigging action, use heavy dumbbell eyes.
Marabou
- Marabou makes for a great tail- it’s pulsing action gives this fly a lot of movement even when paused.
Flash
- This fly will have plenty of flash on the body, but adding extra flash to the tail can add an extra glint of shimmer. Flashabou, Crystal Flash, whatever you like!
- The amount of flash is up to you as well.
Flashy Chenille
- For the body, we want a flashy chenille material. I like Estaz or Cactus Chenille- as long as it sparkles we’re good to go.

Schminnow Tying Steps

The Schminnow only has a handful of fly tying steps. Which makes it great for several reasons- it’s a great fly for beginners, you can tie a bunch in one sitting, and most importantly, it catches fish.

Attach Eyes

With some space in front of the hook eye, attach your eyes of choice. Use a bunch of cross wraps, figure 8’s, and underwraps to secure the eyes tightly to the shank. A drop of superglue also goes a long way for stability and durability.

The beadchain eyes in this Schminnow example allow the fly to sink very slowly and glide right under the surface. Heavier dumbbell eyes will get the fly deeper and give it a little more of a jigging action.

Add Tail + Flash

Measure out your marabou so it’s about the length of the shank of the hook. Tie it in near the bend. Done.

This is the time to add as little or as much flash as you want. Tie in a few strands on either side of the hook and trim it just past the marabou.

Wrap Chenille

Near the base of the tail, tie in your chenille. From there, wrap it evenly along the shank and around the dumbbell eyes with figure 8’s. We need the entire shank to be covered here, so do whatever it takes!