The Murray’s Marauder has always been a favorite of mine, not only for the smallmouth bass but also trout in the West. Even though it is available in several colors, today I am going to discuss the Chartreuse Marauder.
The Chartreuse Marauder has great appeal for large bass when the river is slightly discolored and at night. Summertime thunderstorms can move in quickly and stir up some discolored water in the late afternoon. I wait until they pass and then head to the river and plan to fish until just after dark.
Use a fast two-foot line hand stripping action every 5 seconds to bring the fly to life. Cast across stream and swim this fly deeply back across stream. Then wade downstream and repeat this method every 10 feet.
For smallmouth bass use the size 6 or 8 that comes with dumbbell eyes. For stocked trout streams use the size 10 or 12 that comes with a bead head.
Tying the Murray’s Chartreuse Marauder
Hook: Mustad, 9672, 6,8,10,12
Thread: 3/0 Prewaxed Monocord to match body
Body: Estaz, Chartreuse
Tail: Ostrich Herl, Chartreuse
Hackle: Grizzly Saddle to match body
Weight: 6/32 barbell eyes on sizes 6 &8,
silver bead on sizes 10&12
Cover hook shank with thread and tie in eyes behind hook eye. Tie in a clump of ostrich herl for the tail over the bend of the hook equal to the length of the hook shank. Then tie in the hackle feather by the tip at the bend of the hook. Tie in a 6 inch strip of Estaz over the bend of the hook and wind this forward to the hook eye and tie it off. Trim off excess Estaz. Wind the hackle forward to the hook eye and tie it off. Trim off excess hackle stem and build a neat head with thread. Cut thread and apply head cement.
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