Killifish

Striped Killifish (Fundulus majalis)
Killimummi (Mark Gustavson)

HOOK Mustad 3407 #1/0-3/0
THREAD White
TAIL Golden yellow dyed mallard flank
WING Ginger marabou under 2 pieces of gold flash and 2 pieces of black crystal flash
BODY
Gold body braid
HEAD
Spun natural deer hair
Notes

Time of Appearance: Year round.

When the water warms one will begin to find killifish living at the edge of quiet shore lines. The male has vertical stripes while the female has horizontal stripers and sometimes no stripes. The females also grow to a much larger size than the male. Around the new moons in the summer killifish will mate. I have witnessed dozens and dozens of smaller (male) killies surrounding a large (female) killifish. They are quite noisy in their play which takes place in water that is not even one inch deep. When startled, they will immediately flee making a splashy raucous. One or two minutes later they will all return. I have never seen a killifish more than ten feet from shore. They prefer very shallow sandy bottoms, mostly unvegitated. Their size ranges from one to five inches.

[ Saltwater Flies & the Naturals ]