Published Mar 3. 2012 - 12 years ago
Updated or edited Oct 28. 2021

Rolled Muddler

I met the Rolled Muddler in BC while fishing for Pacific salmon, but like it so much that I'll tie up a bunch for my local seatrout, and I'm sure they will work.

Rolled Muddler - The finished fly. See materials and full pattern description.
Rolled Muddler
Martin Joergensen

The Rolled Muddler

is originally from British Columbia and a fly that was designed by Tom Murray and is sometimes referred to as Murray's Rolled Muddler. The fly was originally meant for fishing for cutthroats along saltwater beaches and in the estuaries. In other words a BC coastal fly!

In BC it's

also popular for stream and river fishing for Pacific salmon, mainly coho, and I met it (and fished it) for the first time back in 2004 and have personally caught a couple of species of Canadian salmon on this pattern. I met it first when fishing with BC guide Erik Skaaning, who handed me this pattern when we were fishing for coho in a quiet backwater to the Harrison, a short but beautiful tributary to the Fraser. We had a very fun afternoon with medium size coho that were slowly milling around in this clear and almost still part of the river. Among the successful flies was the Rolled Muddler.
During my latest trip to BC and the Vancouver area, I also fished the Rolled Muddler for coho, and although it did catch more pinks than cohos, it certainly worked.

BC Guide Erik Skaaning shows the box - When the guide pops his box, you keep your eyes open
Pacific Salmon flies - A bunch tied up and ready for the pinks and cohos of BC - Rolled Muddlers to the right
Coho - The Rolled Muddler was originally tied for coastal cutthroat, but is also very popular for coho salmon
Lo and behold! - Rolled Muddlers... and several of them
A BC fly
Martin Joergensen - Steve Schweitzer
Done! - I like my muddlers with a distinct head and a nicely stacked collar. The original Muddler Minnow actually featured a messy, uneven head. The fish didn't care. I do.
My usual fat style
Henning Eskol

There are several variations

of this fly to be found. The one major variation is whether or not the fly is tied with a bead. Another variation is of course the color, which varies a lot. The fly can be found in natural colors as well as dull blue and olive and even in bright yellow, chartreuse or orange. Some are also tied so fat and bulky that they remind me more of a standard Muddler Minnow. The Rolled Muddler should be tied as a slim and lightly dressed fly. That seems to be the general conception, and the one I adhere to.
I have fished and will tie the natural one with a bead. That's what I have had success with, and what I prefer.
As you can see on the image to the right, I usually tie my muddlers quite fat. Not so the Rolled Muddler! The Rolled Muddler is a slender fly with a fairly skinny wing and a small and streamlined head. My muddlers also float or fish in the surface. The Rolled Muddler sinks and jigs on the retrieve.

Given my well documented

muddler mania, I'd love to add yet another muddler to my box, and this one has everything I like: very fish-like, simple and it even has a bead for weight - love at first sight. It's time to introduce the Rolled Muddler to the Danish seatrout.

This one has everything I like: very fish-like, simple and it even has a bead for weight - love at first sight


FMJRM

FMJRM - The Full Metal Jacket Rolled Muddler - a Rolled Muddler with a cone in stead of a bead. See materials and full pattern description.
FMJRM
Martin Joergensen

Of course I had to do a FMJRM - Full Metal Jacket Rolled Muddler - using a brass cone in stead of a round bead, and using the technique I used for the first time 15-20 years ago when I began to tie the FMJNM - Full Metal Jacket Nutria Muddler. I won't say in any way that I developed this technique, but when I did it back then, I hadn't seen anybody else do it before.

These days there are plenty cone headed muddlers in almost any fly catalog, and just looking on this site, you will find the 8 year old article on the Zuddler, an excellent steelhead pattern developed by by Joe Emery and John Rode.

The Rolled Muddler lends itself very well to the cone head style, and I will most likely tie most of my RM's as FMJRM's. I use Bidoz 3.5 or 4mm brass cones for these flies - perfect in size and weight for the smaller hooks.

Tying instructions

1 - bead

2 - thread base

3 - super glue

4 - position bead

5 - start the thread

6 - mallard feather

7 - prepare feather

9 - measure tail length

9 - tie in tail

10 - cover tail butts

11 - return thread

12 - tie in flash

13 - wrap the body

14 - varnish

15 - let dry

16 - prepare wing

17 - tie in wing

18 - trim surplus

19 - select deer hair

20 - cut a bunch

21 - wrap

22 - wing set

23 - room for more

24 - extra hair

25 - flare

26 - bottoms up

27 - prepare hair

28 - bottom done

29 - whip finish

30 - start trimming

31 - trim wing

32 - final trim

Rolled Muddler - The Rolled Muddler is a slim muddler
Done
Martin Joergensen
Rolled Muddler
Pattern type: 
Wet fly
Originator: 
Tom Murray
Materials: 
Hook
Long shank straight eye streamer, size 4-6 (like Kamasan B820)
Bead
Brass, to fit hook (3-4 mm)
Thread
Tan 8/0
Tail
Teal or mallard
Body
Flat gold tinsel, 4 straws of gold flash or gold braid
Wing
Teal or mallard
Collar and head
Natural deer hair
Skill level/difficulty: 
Medium

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Comments

If I only had one fl...

If I only had one fly to use it would be the rolled muddler. I have caught everything from cutthroat to steelhead to snook and jack crevalle in salt water in Florida.
It is the most fun fly I have ever used

Nothing beats the FM...

Nothing beats the FMJ Rolled Muddler when targeting aggressive bows and bulls. I find when targeting these fish, adding some white bucktail and some crystal flash before the mallard wing makes the fly more enticing. However for salmon what the author said is especially true; you want the fly to be very sparse.

Martin Joergensen's picture

Folks, Sorry abou...

Folks,

Sorry about omitting the materials... a slip. I added the proper code now, and viola!

Martin

Very nice! A marabou...

Very nice! A marabou muddler is my go-to for smallmouth, so I will tie up a few of these for low or very clear water. Thanks, Martin. Good series.

Martin, nice fly ...

Martin,

nice fly and nice description, thanks! I am only missing the two frames as usual, one about the fly and one about the material. I like these frames a lot......or did I oversee them....?

Jan

janw

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