Really liking the flatwing
creations of Ken Abrames & other East Coast tiers, & fascinated with the
beautiful designs of the Puget Sound anglers, who have adapted the style to match their bait, I thought to try some patterns
designed to meet trout in my home waters, & over the next few posts I’ll feature a few that I think are
worthwhile.
A sculpin was the first critter that came to mind as a flatwing candidate. I fish sculpin patterns a lot on the UC, & I'm always looking for a better one. Peter Van Hest
fished the first flatwing out of the vice & had a really good morning swinging
it from the bank, catching two nice redband & the chunky surprise of a
smallmouth bass, before losing the fly on the bottom. Then we spent most of the
day tying a bunch more –
(And it wouldn’t surprise me
that the Flatwing Sculpin is taken for a crayfish, as stillwater
Usually mottled tan, brown, or olive, & barred down the sides, sculpin vary in coloration according to location. I’ve seen both brown & olive specimens from the UC, so variations do occur in the same water.
I like the sculpin tickling over the bottom on the swing, & tie the flatwing unweighted (for best action), relying on a sink-tip or full-sinking line to get it down.
Flatwing Sculpin
Hook: #2-#6
Mustad 9174 (or other heavy-wire, short shank hook)
Thread: Black,
brown or olive
Body: In
order: Wind base thread even with the hook point; tie in a pinch of white or yellow
bucktail as tailing, short, about
the same length as the hook shank; dub tan, or olive rabbit onto thread &
cover the rear half of the hook shank, winding forward toward the eye; add a small pinch of natural brown (or olive) bucktail, extending back, tips even with the white (should have used a bit more bucktail on the fly in the photo); tie in a
ginger, brown, or olive grizzly neck hackle, flat to the top of the hook shank, tip
down; apply a wind of dubbing; tie in a matching saddle hackle, tip up; tie in
two strands of copper or olive mylar flash, one on each side of the hook shank
(as lateral lines); tie in a topping of six to eight peacock swords.
Head (Hackle): One
pheasant rump hackle, then two brahma hen hackles, wound to the hook eye –
& finish.
Flyfish NE Washington with Steven Bird: http:ucflyfishing.blogspot.com
