Minipi Camps Web Log
Why “Mouse” flies work.
I just put a “mouse/lemming” fly in the Photo Gallery and thought it might be interesting to include this note on the lemming.
Mouse flies work because there are plenty of little lemmings in the Minipi watershed.
Lemming
“Any of 20 species of small rodents, some of which undertake large, swarming migrations. Lemmings are found only in the Northern Hemisphere. They have short, stocky bodies with short legs and stumpy tails, a bluntly rounded muzzle, small eyes, and small ears that are nearly hidden in their long, dense, soft fur. The wood lemming (Myopus schisticolor) and steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus) are the smallest, measuring 8 to 12 cm (3.1 to 4.7 inches) in body length and weighing 20 to 30 grams (0.7 to 1.0 ounce). The other species are larger, weighing 30 to 112 grams, with bodies 10 to 22 cm long. The colour of the collared lemming varies seasonally. During the summer its coat is gray tinged with buff or reddish brown and with dark stripes on the face and back. In the winter they molt into a white coat and develop forked digging claws. Other species are gray, sandy yellow, various tints and tones of brown, or slate gray and black.”
“lemming.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite . Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2007.
I love fishing a mouse pattern in Little Minipi waters. I caught some huge fish on that fly and saw many more rise to look at it. I remember one fish in particular in 2005 that I caught on a big mouse fly. When guide Sam went to dislodge the hook there was a tail of a real lemming protruding from the fish’s mouth. True opportunistic feeders.
Posted by on 02/10 at 03:53 PMI believe the lemming that is common here is known as the “Labrador Collared Lemming”. They say the lemming can swim distances exceeding 1 kilometer. That’s if they don’t turn into fish food first.
Posted by RobinCooper on 04/09 at 01:19 PM