Sculpin Step by step

Many of you know I love fishing Sculpin Patterns. I have been playing around with a new series of Sculpin flies by Rich Strolis. The Headbanger series consists of 3 flies  the Headbanger; a 5" articulated beast, the Roadie; a more subtle 3" version, and the Groupie; a 1.5" micro version of this great fly. I have a few of them floating around the shop and everybody that looks at them always seem intrigued. I have landed a ton of Smallmouth on this fly and have recently been fishing the micro version on some trout rivers having success on both stocked and wild fish. I am not real big on step-by-step posts, but several people have asked so here you go. Thanks to all that have admired the flies I have tied, it is truly a humbling experience for me, and a big thanks to Rich for coming up with a great series of flies. 

Start with the appropriate size TMC 9394 or 9395. Start your thread and wrap back to the barb.

Tie in one olive marabou blood quill the same way you would tie in a Bugger tail. Tie the opposite end of the feather up the shank to build up some bulk.

Tie in a piece of olive Estaz at the tail and palmer forward to the end of the bulked up marabou. Be sure to leave enough room for the head to fit on!

This next series of pictures show how the pectoral fins are tied in. Here I used Senyo's laser yarn in Sculpin Olive. Tease a small clump out and tie it in, in the middle on side of the shank. Repeat this on the other side. Once both sides are tied in fold the front half back and tie down. At this point you can trim them to length if necessary. 

Next clip a piece of olive Craft Fur. Pull out all of the underfur and tie in with the ends of the Craft fur pointing out over the hook eye.

Fold the Craft fur back over top of itself and tie down. The Craft fur should extend just past the Marabou tail. Remember Sculpin are big, chesty fish up front then they taper down to a very thin profile.

These next pictures show the Sculpin Helmet after it has been installed. Zap-A-Gap works great here. Just be sure to test fit before you put glue on the fly. A drop on the top and bottom of the fly will do it. 

After the head is secure I put on the eyes and coat the entire head with Clear Cure Goo Hydro. This will seal the finish on the head and prevent it from chipping off. This will also coat ans seal the eyes to the head. A few seconds under the CCG light and the head is almost indestructible!

Bar the Craft fur with a black Sharpie to give the cool mottling effect that all Sculpin seem to have.

Pretty cool isn't he?

There you have it. A simple yet VERY effective tie. I like the olive color, but rusty brown looks great and fishes great as well. Read about the rusty brown pattern here. Stop by and pick up the materials to tie up a few of these.  I will bet you have most of them at home already. Swim these babies in and around rocks and ledges on your favorite trout river this fall, you will be glad you did! 


                                                                                                                                                     Tight lines...