Rusty Squirrel: (Jay Murakoshi’s variation of a Clouser)

  • Hook -- TMC 800S, size 4-6
  • Thread -- Red 6/0
  • Eyes/Weight -- Spirit River Real Eyes 3/8
  • Tail -- Natural or Brown Squirrel Tail
  • Body -- Gold Diamond Braid
  • Belly -- Squirrel on top of the shank
  • Wing -- Squirrel on bottom of shank, with Rainbow Krystal Flash
De-barb hook and mount in vise. Develop a thread base for the real eyes and lash the eyes in a criss-cross fashion followed by a few locking turns at the 1/3 point along the top of the hook. Drop in some flexament or thicker head cement along the lashed area of the eyes. Tie in a squirrel tail length that is the total length of hook shank along the top of the hook behind the eyes. Attach gold braid at the back of the shank at the barb of hook and wrap it forward to the eye. Tie off and cut. Take the same length of squirrel tail and tie off behind and in front of the eyes, Rotate or flip hook on vise. Tie in under wing (same length as the previous pieces) forward of the eyes. Add Krystal flash and form head and whip finish.