I designed this fly to be versatile.  Mink is naturally buoyant and it can be fished as a nymph, an emerger or floated as a dry.  At the end of a drift, if it sinks, it can be stripped back and fished like a small streamer or leech.  Doesn’t that make it a Mink Master?

The Mink Master is tied entirely of mink. The guard hairs are used for the tail and wing, and the underfur for the body.

Tie the tail in first; then run the thread forward to tie in the wing. Run the thread back and dub the body...throwing a substantial wrap of dubbing in front of the wing as a thorax on your way to whip finishing. Trim the wing short to just above the barb.

Make sure to get all the underfur out of the hair before you do your wing and tail. Use the underfur for the body and form a buggy taper with a substantial thorax.

NEVER use floatant on this fly. It'll ruin its ability to be fished in all the varieties of ways it can be.

Dead drifted like a dry, pulled underneath and made to act as a popper, sunk with split shot and fished as a nymph, or waterlogged and fished in the surface film as an emerger.

VERY versatile, can be tied in a variety of shades, and makes a great "One Fly" tournament fly.