Designed to simulate sculpin,
there’s no denying the effectiveness of Don Gapen’s original Muddler Minnow, a
pattern that has spawned countless variations tied with heads of clipped deer
hair or wool to create a fat-headed sculpin profile.
Though quicker to tie, I’ve
found wool-head versions not as killing as I’d like; & though there aren’t
many fly-tying operations I don’t enjoy, I’m not that fond of spinning &
clipping deer hair – mainly because it is time-consuming, hence frustrating
when the Muddler snags the bottom & is broken off, or otherwise lost by any
means (these work best fished with a sink-tip, tickling over the bottom).
Because it is such an
important & wide-ranging trout food form, I’m always experimenting with new
sculpin patterns & have had good results with several hackle-headed
versions, employing multiple brahma hackles to effect the wide-headed profile. However,
those versions use up a lot of brahma hackle in the process.
My recent fascination with
the dabbler design frame has led me to realize how well it serves to create a
sculpin profile, giving the illusion of mass without a lot of material
build-up. The hackle version breathes & pulses; the hackle head providing a
more realistic color blend with the rest of the fly than one might achieve from
hair. Here’s the dressing for one I like:
Olive/Brown Muddler
Hook: #4-#6 TMC 200R
Thread: camel UNI 8/0
Hackle: front collar: olive
guinea hen; rear collar: brahma hen
Tailing: brown over olive
marabou, topped with a pinch of olive guinea hackle barbs
Rib: copper wire
Body: dark olive hare’s mask
blended with a pinch of lighter olive antron & a pinch of chopped Hareline
UV Shrimp dubbing for highlights – build the body heavier toward the front of
the fly
Palmer: brown or
brown-grizzly shlappen, 5 turns over the body (counting the initial collar) – wind
a collar of 3 full turns of the hackle before palmering back to the hook bend
Wind the ribbing wire forward
to cinch down the palmered hackle, tie off the wire in front of the palmer
hackle collar (having left room to wind the 2 collars in front); wind the
brahma hackle back to the palmer collar, 3 full turns, apply a turn of thread
over the hackle tip & wind the tying thread forward over (through) to the
front of the hackle (then trim away the hackle tip); & then do the same
with the guinea hackle behind the hook eye.
