Fly of the Month by Scott Reisetter
The “Glass Minnow”
The original Glass Minnow, created by the late Carl Hansen (The Lord of Flies) of St. Petersburg, Florida. Hansen set out to imitate the “rain bait,” juvenile anchovies that are prevalent on St. Pete’s inshore waters. Some also claim Joe Brooks created the first Glass Minnow pattern back in the early days of saltwater fly fishing. But who cares? I’m here to fish. The key to the pattern is the sparseness of the wing, and a body wrapped with monofilament, which lends translucency. Once wet the fly moves and reacts very realistically. The original Glass Minnow was white with clear mono body, but many color versions are tied, with contrasting wing layers and silver, pearl or gold Mylar under the protective mono wraps. This has been a tried and true pattern that regularly makes top ten list with saltwater slayers. The glass minnow does a great job in simulating natural bait fish. The pattern has evolved over the years and now is the base pattern for all kinds of variations. This fly can be used in saltwater and fresh water. So go tie one or buy one, but get out and get after it.
Fly tying resources and instructions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffMVjYoSczc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36qwL_mBoY8
Cool article about Carl Hansen:
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2002/05/08/fly-fishing-philosopher-had-lots-of-disciples/