Clouser Minnow

The Clouser Minnow may be the best baitfish pattern ever tied. It works on any fish, in fresh or salt water, that eats smaller fish. Bob Clouser designed it, and the lead dumbbell eyes are what make it work: they get the fly down quickly and give it a jigging, up-and-down action on the strip. The weight also flips the hook point up, so the fly rarely snags when you bounce it along the bottom. In salt water, it catches striped bass, redfish, snook, jacks, and just about everything else.

Southern California surf anglers use it heavily for corbina, croaker, and halibut along beaches and back bays. It is a fly worth keeping in every saltwater box.