By Skip Clement
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]rmed with the fact that trouts eat mostly near the bottom, about +/- 75% – blackfly, scud, sow bug, stonefly, caddis, mayfly, cranefly, crayfish, sculpin, darters, juvenile trouts, and different species of aquatic freshwater worms, I wondered what morsel would create the most interest year ‘round. So, I asked the experts, Kelly Galloup (Slide Inn); Steve Hudson, our field editor and author of over 20 books regionally focused on fly fishing the Southeast, and Orvis endorsed guide service owner Chris Scalley (River Through Atlanta) whom we profiled a few months ago.
The consensus was not the expected crayfish or version thereof, universal aquatic worms or any of the usual suspects in the #16 and smaller range, nor the currently popular heavyweight articulated flies. It was the sculpin. So, which one would be best and easy to tie?
I scanned, via YouTube at fast forward speed, over a dozen or so sculpin ties. David McPhail’s version was the easiest to tie and like many such patterns uses the “helmut.” I only tied about four of the patterns that I surveyed, and searched the local Atlanta fly shops for sculpin patterns. I asked shop staffers which sculpin in their bins did the most damage. The prime sculpin patterns generally looked closer to Kelly Galloup’s Wooly Sculpin.
The Wooly Sculpin in the video below is called that for an obvious reason – it starts out looking like the “Woolly Bugger.” The Wooly as tied by Galloup is not difficult, does not require exotic materials nor take too long – start to finish. Again, the more you tie, the faster you can go.
A big bonus is that you get a tutorial on deer hair that will make future deer hair purchases and usage respectively better and easier. Oh, “You’re Gonna’ Like the Way it Fishes.”
Galloup’s Tan Wooly Sculpin Recipe:
Thread: GSP 100 White –
Hook: Dai-Riki 710 #2 –
Tail 1: 1 Plume of Cream Marabou –
Tail 2: 1 Plume of Tan/Brown MFC Barred Marabou –
Body: Tan Chenille or Ginger/White Variegated Chenille –
Hackle: Light Brown Neck Hackle or Ginger Strung Rooster Saddle-
Rib: Gold Ultra Wire ( Size: Brassie ) –
Head and Collar: Natural Deer Hair –
To purchase all you’ll need to tie this fly . . .
[youtube id=”30lgdN2vQRQ” width=”620″ height=”360″]
