Sculpins live near the bottom of streams, often hiding in
rocks and ledges. It's hard for big fish to overlook this tasty
meal when it's available. For that reason, sculpin flies are a
real treat for any fisherman looking for big fish.
This fly looks enough like lunch to fool fish in waters that
don't have a sculpin population. A great example would be
the Black Hills of South Dakota, where sculpins don't exist.
I've caught many fish, (trout, pike, walleye, bass) on this fly
in the Black Hills. I think it looks enough like any minnow or
even crayfish to fool any hungry fish.
I often add a set of barbell eyes or a large brass bead to
the fly to give it enough weight to get down to the bottom
fast. Since walleyes spend most of their time near the
bottom, the beadhead versions are favorites for these toothy critters. Pike
munch them with enthusiasm too.
For bass, try dropping an un-weighted version in a pocket in the
weeds or lilly pads. Let it sit for a minute, then give it a few twitches
before you start a slow retrieve. They can't resist having a little taste of the
lunch that just dropped in.
For trout and salmon, a weighted line or beadhead version are in
order. Drop the fly into a deep pool, and swim it slowly near the bottom.
Undercut banks are another great place to swim a weighted sculpin.
Big browns love to hide under deep, dark banks, just waiting to
ambush any careless sculpin that happens to swim by. Don't be
surprised if the trout you catch tops 10 pounds; many of mine
have. It seems the big ones will toss all caution aside to munch a sculpin.
Springtime pike and bass often feed on the surface. The
deer-hair head of this fly keeps it floating on or near the
surface if you don't use a sinking line to get it down. Slow,
jerky retrieves will usually entice these early season
predators. Fish it near weed beds and similar structure,
pausing near stumps and openings in the weeds to tease
any fish nearby.
For walleye, I use a fast sinking line and a short leader to
keep the fly on or near the bottom. If you prefer a floating
line, or you're working a rock wall in shallow water, a bead
head version is a good choice. Bounce it off the rock wall
and let it sink. Be sure to hit as close as possible to any
structure around. Bass, pike and walleyes are usually in or
close to structure like logs, weeds or large rocks.
I also tie this fly on a lead head jig hook for those
fishermen who don't feel comfortable fishing walleyes or
bass with a fly rod. Several of the local bass and walleye
tournament fishermen have won tournaments with the jig
version of this fly. When I left Montana in 1986, four of the
top ten walleyes in the Montana record books had been
caught on my sculpin jig patterns. That alone is reason
enough to tie up a few of these flies. ~ Al Campbell
Check out Al Campbell's Catch All Sculpin,
Poly Sucker and
Campbell's C-B Scud
Fly of the Week contributions.
About Al Campbell
Al Campbell has been on all of the sides of fly fishing. He was a
guide for ten years, and fly fishes for a variety of fish. He has been a
commercial tier and rod builder. He is an excellent photographer, and
contributed the Beginning and Intermediate Fly Tying and Graphite
Rod Building sections, plus the Fly of the Week series. You will also
find him as a Host in the Chat Room. Since 1994 he has worked in the
retail side of fly fishing, for Scheels All Sports. In addition to his duties
as part of the sales staff in Rapid City, he teaches the rest of the sales
staff in the 18 other stores the finer points of fly fishing. He also does
most of the product research of new fly fishing items and gets to
decide which of the new products on the market to stock. For more of
Al's excellent writing, as well as information on fishing the Black Hills,
Click Here!
~ DB
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