Hi Prospector.
I think the great popularity and success of the Clouser style is that it's was the first easily made, easily weighted fly since the use of large bead chain eyes/weights (commonly known as "Whistler" flies because of the sound that make when casting - a great way to clear the beach around you!
). The clouser was actually first intended as a freshwater smallmouth fly but quickly proved it's value as a saltwater pattern.
The clouser's design makes the fly bounce and flutter, assuming a strip-pause-strip retrieve (bass typically hit as the fly settles). That's because the weight is concentrated front and below the hook shank. Contrast that with a Jiggy fly where the cone head distributes the weight around the hook shank thus giving a more darting and zig-zag action for the same retrieve style. I'm sure the weighting helps too for those times you need to get deeper. But I think it's the action the weight gives and not the sinking quality that makes the clouser so effective.
I don't think you can get the same effect with a deceiver for this reason. It's the weight on the fly, not the sinking per se, that helps. Although if you want a deceiver-like fly you can make a flat-wing clouser or a deceiver in a clouser style. There's a video (don't recall the name) that has Bob Clouser and Lefty Kreh together making a clouser-deceiver fly that looks great!
I think the clouser can be put in the same catagory as the deceiver in as much as there is no one right way (or no wrong way) to make one. I've seen people use the FinS tail as you mention as well as curly tails, mixing natural and synthetic materials, Blanton style (lots of flash off the tail - I like that a lot for daytime fishing!), etc etc.
IMO you can fish a clouser on any style of line. I typically use them on intermediate or sinking lines but have successfully fished clousers on floating lines, especially when fishing around shallow rocks. The floating line keeps the fly from snagging too often.
Hope this helps.
Jaiem
ArtsNFlies.com
I think the great popularity and success of the Clouser style is that it's was the first easily made, easily weighted fly since the use of large bead chain eyes/weights (commonly known as "Whistler" flies because of the sound that make when casting - a great way to clear the beach around you!
). The clouser was actually first intended as a freshwater smallmouth fly but quickly proved it's value as a saltwater pattern.The clouser's design makes the fly bounce and flutter, assuming a strip-pause-strip retrieve (bass typically hit as the fly settles). That's because the weight is concentrated front and below the hook shank. Contrast that with a Jiggy fly where the cone head distributes the weight around the hook shank thus giving a more darting and zig-zag action for the same retrieve style. I'm sure the weighting helps too for those times you need to get deeper. But I think it's the action the weight gives and not the sinking quality that makes the clouser so effective.
I don't think you can get the same effect with a deceiver for this reason. It's the weight on the fly, not the sinking per se, that helps. Although if you want a deceiver-like fly you can make a flat-wing clouser or a deceiver in a clouser style. There's a video (don't recall the name) that has Bob Clouser and Lefty Kreh together making a clouser-deceiver fly that looks great!
I think the clouser can be put in the same catagory as the deceiver in as much as there is no one right way (or no wrong way) to make one. I've seen people use the FinS tail as you mention as well as curly tails, mixing natural and synthetic materials, Blanton style (lots of flash off the tail - I like that a lot for daytime fishing!), etc etc.
IMO you can fish a clouser on any style of line. I typically use them on intermediate or sinking lines but have successfully fished clousers on floating lines, especially when fishing around shallow rocks. The floating line keeps the fly from snagging too often.
Hope this helps.
Jaiem
ArtsNFlies.com
