BaitfishbeginnerGreat Lakes
Flybox sourcing profile
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Sourcing Ledger
TWG checkout is closed. These are current sourcing leads, scored by mapped tier, region, species, fly type, and named-pattern evidence. Confirm availability directly with the tier or shop.
Matched on Great Lakes, baitfish flies, smallmouth bass. Great Lakes predator shop and guide brand with musky-specific fly inventory.
Matched on Great Lakes, baitfish flies, smallmouth bass. Michigan and Great Lakes shop lead for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns.
Matched on baitfish flies, bass, clouser. Broad retail catalog for standard trout, warmwater, salmon/steelhead, and saltwater patterns.
Matched on baitfish flies, smallmouth bass, smallmouth. Appalachian trout and smallmouth source with long-running regional fly catalog depth.
Matched on baitfish flies, bass, bass. Arizona and Southwest shop lead for desert trout, bass, canal carp, and warmwater patterns.
Bob Clouser designed this fly specifically for smallmouth bass on the Susquehanna River, and the smallmouth of the Great Lakes have been falling for it ever since. The lead eyes give it a jigging action on the retrieve that triggers the 'must eat immediately' response hardwired into every bronze-flanked bass. It is the rare fly that works better the less you do with it.
Lake St. Clair
MI · Great Lakes Shoreline
Muskegon River
MI · River
Fox River
IL · River
Map unavailable. Locations for Clouser Minnow (Smallmouth): Lake St. Clair, MI; Muskegon River, MI; Fox River, IL
region guide
The Great Lakes region offers a staggering diversity of fly fishing — from legendary Hex hatches on northern Michigan rivers to chrome steelhead on Lake Erie tributaries and trophy muskellunge in the bays. This is the complete guide to fishing the freshwater coast.
seasonal playbook
Summer is fly fishing's season of abundance. Sixteen-hour days, prolific hatches, aggressive fish, and the full spectrum from mountain trout to saltwater flats. This is your playbook for making the most of the warmest, longest, most generous months of the fishing year.
species science
Smallmouth bass fight harder than trout, eat more aggressively than largemouth, and live in some of the most beautiful water on the continent. From Driftless spring creeks to Great Lakes tributaries to Appalachian smallmouth rivers, the bronze back demands respect and rewards understanding.
BaitfishintermediateFind a tier or trusted source
Great Lakes
#2 - #1/0
Wide-profile baitfish imitation with an epoxy head and splayed hackle tail. Pushes water and flashes on the retrieve. Deadly on predatory warm-water species throughout the Great Lakes basin.
Smallmouth Bass · Northern Pike · Walleye
BaitfishintermediateFind a tier or trusted source
Great Lakes
6-10 inches
Tandem-hook version of Lefty's Deceiver built for toothy Great Lakes predators. Extra length, extra flash, extra everything. Designed to withstand pike and musky teeth.
Northern Pike · Musky
BaitfishbeginnerFind a tier or trusted source
Midwest & Driftless
#4 - #8
Lead-eyed baitfish pattern that rides hook-point-up. Originally tied for Susquehanna smallmouth, now the universal warmwater fly.
Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Channel Catfish
BaitfishbeginnerFind a tier or trusted source
Southwest & California
1/0-6
Bob Clouser's legendary deep-diving baitfish pattern. The heavy dumbbell eyes ride hook-point-up, making it nearly snag-proof while imitating everything from anchovies to shad.
Striped Bass · Largemouth Bass · Smallmouth Bass · Carp
BaitfishintermediateFind a tier or trusted source
Great Lakes
#1/0 - #2
A heavy smelt-and-alewife Clouser built for Great Lakes lake trout when cold water brings fish within fly range. Dumbbell eyes, sparse bucktail, pearl flash, and a long smoky back make it a deepwater baitfish profile instead of a generic trout streamer.
Lake Trout · Brown Trout · Steelhead
BaitfishintermediateFind a tier or trusted source
Midwest & Driftless
#2 - #6
Heavy Clouser Minnow variant tied for North Dakota's Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea. Lead eyes and bucktail in chartreuse/white target walleye, smallmouth, and pike in deep, moving water.
Walleye · Smallmouth Bass · Northern Pike