Don Balke (North Carolina, B. 1933) "Fishing Flies - Muddler Minnow" Signed lower right. Original Watercolor painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting was originally featured on the Fleetwood First Day Cover of the U.S. 29c Muddler Minnow issued May 31, 1991. The flyfisher's cast snakes out across the stream, landing lightly on the water, with a Muddler Minnow clinched tightly to the nearly-invisible monofilament leader. As the swiftmoving mountain water catches line and fly, the Muddler is propelled along with the current, twitching through eddies and "swimming" seductively around underwater rocks. With its undulating deerhair and realistic shape, it proves to be more than a hungry Brown Trout can resist ... and the "Brownie" pounces on what it takes to be a minnow, only to find itself fast to the angler's rod and reel. As anyone who has ever used it knows, the Muddler Minnow is a superbly effective, versatile and durable "streamer" -- the flyfishing term for a baitfish imitation. Developed by noted fisherman Don Gapen, it has come to be a universally-accepted method of mimicking any of the many squat, brown bottom-dwelling minnows. Gapen's original design has been widely adapted and modified, but the original Muddler is tied on a long-shank hook of heavy wire, with a small portion of wild turkey tail feather tied in as a tail, and a length of gold tinsel wrapped around the length of the hook. Over this are tied a small clump of fox squirrel tail fur and a "wing" of turkey tail. Finally, a clump of deer hair is added and clipped into the bullet shape of a minnow's head. The flash of gold, the realistic movement of the materials, the somber color and the natural shape combine to make the Muddler Minnow a classic trout-taker. Image Size: 21 x 17.75 in. Overall Size: 21 x 19.25 in. Unframed. (B12985)