Flys

[KRflyfisher]

I grew up 15 min. from Bennet and have fished there all my life, and I have never heard of a John Deere fly or minijig but I have heard about themon this forum. What is it, how do you tie it, and why am I so clueless about it? Maybe I'm too young to be a geezer just yet, but ADD might be the problem.

KR

[roundtrout]

KR,

The minijigs are really small jigs in a variety of weights. I wasn't familiar with them either until a professed "lunker hunter" gave me a white one and told me to fish it as close to the bottom as possible. Right off the vegetation. I think beadheads are just about the same thing as the minijigs, except you don't have to thread the bead on the hook or tie a couple of wraps to keep it up near the eye. They come in a wide variety and can be found in the fly selection at the lodge where you buy your tag at Bennett. I think Weavers also carries them, in fact, I'm sure they do because that's where I usually get my "undressed" jigs. I think the white thread minijig is a fair representation of a beadhead scud. The weight on the jig gets it down pretty quickly and with an indicator you can fish it just about anywhere you want in the water column. You'll spot the "John Deere" the first time you see it due to the coloration, green with a yellow eye. Another common patter is a bit of white, pink or green marabou tied in just past the weight. I've seen beadheads at other locations, but the minijigs are most common at Bennett and Roaring River. I've not been to the other parks so I can't really say. I've had luck with them outside the parks too, on the Niangua and at Taneycomo in particular. As I indicated, I like them for all the patterns I would use a beadhead because I end up dropping beads on the floor and making a mess. I don't have one of those bead tweezers so, I end up doing it the old fashioned way. Give them a try and lets hear about it!

Bob

[KRflyfisher]

I have used minijigs quite a bit, and the white is my favorite. I had just never heard the green ones called John Deere, i didn't know for sure if it was the green pattern as described or another version of the very popular black and gold minijigs that I have also had great success with. I moved about 10 years ago from the area and admit to not keeping up with new developments in the park, although I have still tried to fish there and I wondered if this was a new pattern or not. Turns out I have a few in my old boxes! Thanks for clearing this up for me.

KR