The story of the Mighty Myakka Minnow

The Mighty Myakka Minnow was born out of frustration. I’m sure you’ve been there.

Imagine a day on the water with fish busting minnows throughout the morning. But after several hours, you still have nothing to show for your efforts. You cast into the spray of minnows, but your offerings are ignored repeatedly. The fish are so keyed into the tiny minnows that they ignore everything else.

Although the scenery is nice and weather gorgeous, it sure would be nice to feel the tug of a largemouth bass or hand-sized bluegill.

This happened to me several times while fly fishing on the Myakka River near my home in Sarasota, Fla.

After one unproductive outing, I decided to try and come up with a fly which would imitate the minnows the fish were so excited about.

I knew that the fly had to be no more than an inch long. It had to look like a minnow. It had to sink. It had to have large eyes.

After a few hours of trial and tribulation, I came up with a workable prototype and couldn’t wait to give it a try.

Next time out to the river, I had several Myakka Minnows in my box and one tied on my 4-weight fly rod. It didn’t take long to realize that I’d hit a home run. I picked up bass, bluegill, stumpknocker and tilapia while blind-casting. I kept my eyes open for scattering minnows. When I saw fish attacking minnows, I’d cast the Myakka Minnow into the fray.

Success is so sweet!

Over the years, the fly has worked very well and achieved a national reputation of sorts. It’s a pattern the Flymasters of Indianapolis featured in their Intermediate Fly Tying Class last spring. I’ve had email inquiries about the fly from interested anglers all over the country. I’ve even sold hundreds of them.

The fly isn’t a magic fly. But it does work very well when small minnows are the main food source. Then, it seems to be magic.

In fresh water, the fly has produced bass, bluegill, shellcracker, stumpknocker, redbreast sunfish, speckled perch and tilapia. Capt. Rick Grassett of Sarasota caught a nice brown trout on the Myakka Minnow in Montana. I have caught barramundi on it. You can tie it on larger hooks and go after saltwater fish. It has resulted in spotted seatrout, snook, redfish, mangrove snapper, jack crevalle, ladyfish, Spanish mackerel, tarpon and little tunny.

Capt. John Hand of Ruskin took a couple of No. 1 Myakka Minnows with him on a trip to Nicaraugua. He was targeting guapote (rainbow bass) and mojarra. He caught both.

“The Myakka Minnow was the only fly they’d hit,” said Hand. “And my guide said he’d never seen either species caught on fly.”

Stephen Piper of San Diego, Calif., emailed me and told me a similar story:

"We were fishing Diamond Valley Lake in SoCal and stripers and largemouth were busting threadfin shad. They were so focused on the shad that they would not take our flies.

"Sounded very much like the situation you described with fish and minnows -- were you fishing largemouth?

"Most of the morning, we had to let the flies drop way down in the water column below the boils -- to 20 feet or
 so -- to catch a few.

"However, during some long lulls, I tried the Myakka Minnow -- shad variation - white marabou

tail, pearl diamond braid body with felt tip cool gray back, and UV knot sense to seal the

body, no weight. It seemed like everytime I cast it, it turned up a fish - all very small - including 8-10-inch largemouth

and a plump bluegill.

"We went back to fishing big flies deep, but at the very end of our

session, I tried the Myakka again to see if it really was "magic?"

"Yep,  nailed another small bass to end the day.

"We were laughin' . . .

"Got a Myakka for the big models? That was amazing."

I sure do. The beauty of the fly is that you can tie it on any size hook to meet your needs. You can tie it small. You can tie it large.

About three years ago, Capt. Grassett had some large tarpon located around the Ringling Bridge on Sarasota Bay. They were feeding on glass minnows.

"But they won't hit any fly I throw," Grassett said.

That night, I tied up some "tarpon version" Myakka Minnows on 3/0 hooks and gave them to Grassett the next day.

A few days late, I got a call.

"Finally figured those tarpon out and jumped three," said Grassett. "All they'd hit was your Myakka Minnow."


I’ve discovered exotic species in the Florida Everglades absolutely love the Myakka Minnow. Used to be that I’d catch oscar and Mayan cichlids on poppers. But when the topwater bite ended, that was the signal to go home. However, I’ve learned it’s really the signal to tie on a Myakka Minnow. The fly has taken thousands of exotics over the years.

It’s a fun fly to fish and an easy fly to tie.

I’m sure there are similar flies out there somewhere, but the pattern was born in my head. I’ve never seen a fly like it in any shop or catalog.

Tie and few and see what you think.

What works best for me is to cast it out, let is sink for a couple of counts, then work it in erratically. I like a couple of 2-inch strips and a pause. But you’ll figure out what works best for you.

First 'Glades trip of the season is wonderful

The drive from Sarasota to where we fish in The Everglades is about 2 1/2 hours. But it's not bad when you have someone with you. Talking passes the time nicely.

Capt. Pete Greenan of Sarasota joined me on Monday for the first 'Glades trip of the season. We talked about fly fishing all the way down.

Greenan is one of Sarasota's fly-fishing pioneers. He hooked me on the sport many years ago. We've caught everything together on fly: snook, spotted seatrout, redfish, tarpon, jack crevalle, false albacore and other species.

On Monday, our targets included oscar, Mayan cichlid, bass, bluegill and whatever else might be lurking in the depths of The 'Glades.

We arrived at our spot about about 6:30. We unloaded the kayaks -- Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5s -- and placed them near the water. We then grabbed life vests, anchors, paddles, seats, milk crates, fly boxes, leader and fly rods and put them in the kayaks.

We hit the water at 7.

We knew we were in for a good day. And we weren't wrong. Greenan hooked a fat oscar on his first cast. It was the first of 200 we would land that day.

The water level was low. That's important because it concentrates the fish. We don't fish during the rainy season (June through September) because the water level is up and the fish can spread out over millions of acres. Plus, the air temperature is much more comfortable in winter and there are no bugs.

That Greenan hooked an oscar on the first cast was an indication of things to come. By our conservative count, we landed more than 300 fish. Other species included Mayan cichlid, largemouth bass, bluegill, stumpknocker, warmouth perch, speckled perch and peacock bass.

Ironically, we had never caught peacock bass or speckled perch at this particular spot.

We used 3- and 4-weight fly rods, floating lines and 7 1/2-foot leaders with 8-pound tippet. You can't use much lighter tippet because oscar are so strong. Their first move is to head back into the structure. You need to prevent that from happening.

We started out with No. 10 popping bugs, but switched to the ever-popular Myakka Minnow within a half hour. For The 'Glades, I tie black MMs because most of the small minnows along the shoreline are that color.

It was easy to find the fish. All we had to do was watch them bust minnows or thump the bulrushes and reeds. A quick cast usually resulted in a hookup.

Greenan is a veteran saltwater fishing guide (www.floridaflyfishing.com), but he loves nothing more than to take a break and spend a day in the Florida Everglades fly fishing for oscar and other species.

It's usually a day for bent rods and fast action.

I run Southern Drawl Kayak Fishing (www.kayakfishingsarasota.com). Everglades trips are available from December through April.

You can reach me at (941) 284-3406.

There are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers

I am convinced that flies are created to hook more anglers than fish. There are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers.

I was browsing through a book on bonefish patterns and there are some really neat flies. There also are some real jokes. How some of them made it into the book is beyond me.

And what else gets me is that someone tweaks an established pattern a little bit and then puts his or her name on it.

The late George Rose of Rotonda was one of my early fly-tying mentors. He told me in his New Hampshire accent, "Steve, there are no new patterns. There all variations on the same theme."

I still believe that.

One of saltwater's truly great flies in the Clouser Minnow, a simple pattern developed by Pennsylvanian Bob Clouser. The fly will take everything from bonefish to carp. All it consists of is an upper and lower clump of bucktail, a little flash and lead eyes. Four steps and you're done.

But there are some numbnuts out there who add a little ice chenille for a body and add their name to the fly.

I created a fly that I named the Myakka Minnow. You can Google it and learn how to tie it. It's a great pattern for panfish and other freshwater species. The beauty of the fly is that it can be tied on any size hook to be used for any minnow-eating species you desire. The fly appeals to everything from bluegill to tarpon.

I posted the fly's recipe on a website, along with photos and the tying procedure. It mostly drew raves, but one disgruntled forum member blasted me for copying someone else's fly and adding my name to it.

I responded that I had never seen a fly like it, but certainly it was possible that there would be another out there. I asked if he would post a link to the site where he had seen it.

A couple of days later, he did. I clicked on the link and it took me to another site. There on my screen I saw my fly. It was on another forum where I had posted the Myakka Minnow photo and recipe.

Guilty! I copied my own fly.

The Myakka Minnow has caught literally thousands of fish. It's a dynamite pattern for oscar and Mayan cichlid in The Everglades.

About a year ago, a fly angler from North Carolina emailed me and wanted to know if I would sell him a few Myakka Minnows. I replied that I would. I said that the flies cost $3.50 each and the minimum order is a dozen.

He said that he was heading down to The Everglades and had read that the Myakka Minnow was THE fly.

About a week later, I mailed the flies to him. I asked that he let me know how he did.

I got an email from him six months later. He told me that they put their boat in at a canal along Alligator Alley and didn't do so well. So, they loaded the boat on the trailer and drove to another canal. They spent a fishless first hour.

"That's when I tied on a Myakka Minnow," he said. "And that's when I started catching fish.

"Your Myakka Minnow saved the day!"

While the Myakka Minnow is somewhat famous, it's not a contest winner. You have to understand that flies that catch fish and flies that win contests usually are two different animals. I entered the Myakka Minnow and another pattern that I created, my Wide-Eye Snook Fly, in a contest last year. The MM didn't place. The Wide-Eye Snook Fly, a pattern that hadn't ever caught a fish at the time, placed third in the nation.

Go figure!

But like I said at the beginning, there are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers.

I'm glad the Myakka Minnow catches fish.

Gibby at FFF Florida Conclave

I will be tying flies and conducting a kayak fishing seminar Friday and Saturday at the Federation of Fly Fishers Florida Council Conclave at the Ramada Inn Resort in Celebration, Fla.
If you will be there, please top by and say hello or introduce yourself.
I will be tying the famous Mighty Myakka Minnow, a fly I designed five years ago that does nothing more than catch fish -- a lot of fish. It's my go-to fly for oscar and Mayan cichlid in The Everglades. It's easy to to -- if you know how. And that's what I'll show you at the Conclave.
I'll also demonstrate how to tie my variation of the D.T. Special, a fly I consider to be THE best beach snook fly ever created. I've been using it and catching snook along the beaches for the past 20 years. Many flies will take snook, but none like the D.T. Special Variation.
Capt. Matt Hoover, a guide in Naples, Fla., sent me a D.T. Special year ago. He told me it was the only beach snook fly I'd ever need.
He was right.
I've tweaked it a little over the years to suit my needs -- hence, the term "variation."
I sometimes get credited with developing the pattern. I did not. I have changed it somewhat and I think it's a better fly.
My seminar on freshwater kayak fishing is scheduled at 11 a.m. Saturday in Room D of the Ramada Inn. I have what I think is a very interesting Power Point presentation. My seminar will last about an hour, with the last 15 minutes for questions. Of course, I'll be available throughout the Conclave to chat about fly fishing or fly tying.
The Ramada Inn is located at 6375 W. Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Celebration. Phone number is (407) 390-5800.
For information on the Conclave, call Capt. Pete Greenan at (941) 232-2960.