Game Changer

INVENTED BY GUIDE and fly designer Blane Chocklett, the Game Changer is well named. I’ve rarely seen bass (or pike or walleye) chase anything with the ruinous abandon they show when attacking this fly. Another wildly unconventional pattern, the Game Changer is made with a series of short segments tied behind the hook. This creates a serpentine ripple that perfectly mimics the movement of a swimming baitfish. The classic GC is about 3½ inches long, but the synthetic material doesn’t absorb water, so it casts easily and lands very lightly. This makes it an excellent choice in clear, skinny water.

HOOK: SHORT-SHANK, WIDE GAP, SIZE 2 TO 2/0

TAIL: MARABOU

SHANKS: 3 TO 6 FISH-SKULL ARTICULATED SPINES OR SIMILAR

BODY: CHOCKLETT’S GAMECHANGER CHENILLE OR SIMILAR

EYES: 3-D

CONTRASTING COLOUR: WATERPROOF MARKER

You don’t tie the GC so much as construct it, as you would a model airplane. Basically, you wrap bushy chenille around each shank before looping it to the next one, then lash the whole chain to the hook with wire. The result resembles a caterpillar, which you then trim into a baitfish shape with fine, sharp scissors. The contrasting pattern comes from colouring the top half with a maker. I also like it in white, with a chartreuse or red back, but this fly is so snaky, the colour is more for you than for the fish.

I LOVE THE contrast between this fly’s gawky, tacky appearance and how well it fishes. If a robot, possessing only a vague understanding of fish and fishing, tried to construct a streamer fly out of junk laying around a space station, it might look like the Murdich Minnow. On closer inspection, though, every element has a purpose. Supported by the bucktail, the long tail shimmies and shines. The collar keeps the tinsel in place, while also lending a subtle swimming action, like the front face of a crankbait. The result is a minnow imitation that’s cheap and easy to tie, easy to cast, easy to fish and virtually indestructible.

The Murdich is fairly buoyant, but unlike most streamers, it doesn’t seem to perform quite right on a sinking line. But it’s a go-to in lakes and rivers when you want a sleek, shallow-running fly to dart around structure or over weeds, or swingdrift across current. It will also have more action if you tie it on with a loop knot. I have seen the Murdich in various colours, but it’s hard to improve on the white-andsilver space-robot motif, tinted with a touch of black, blue or green