Sculpins make up a large part of the diet for trout in our neck of the woods. They’re also available all season long which means if you’re not sure what to tie on, a solid sculpin imitation is probably a safe bet.
While they work well in western Alaska, sculpins are also one the most abundant forage fish for large predatory trout in rivers all over the world, so odds are they work really well on your rivers too!
There are a lot of great sculpin imitations out there, but one of our all around favorites is the Sculpzilla. With it’s combination of weight, action, and moderate profile, the Sculpzilla fishes well whether swung, stripped, or just about any way you can think to fish it. It’s also tied in articulated fashion which not only means it moves really well in the water, but it fights big fish really well too. We think it’s one of the most productive sculpin patterns out there, and today we show you how to tie it.
The Sculpzilla – Tying Instructions
Step 1: Loop on some 3o lb. Dacron backing onto an up eye stinger hook. I like to fix my hook into the vice like this because it’s easier to whip finish at the next stage.Step 2: Offer up some bunny zonker strip and tie it onto the top of the shank of the hook. Just whip finish here and super glue your thread to fix the material. Trim your thread and set aside. You can see how I’ve wet the bunny so it’s easier to tie in.Step 3: Slip a cross-eyed come onto s hook shank, or in this case a straightened out intruder shank.Step 4: Tie down your Dacron onto the top of the shank. I fold the Dacron back over itself and super glue to make sure the Dacron won’t slip.Step 5: Trim off the remaining Dacron and dub some olive dubbing onto your thread. You can put your dubbing into a dubbing loop but I prefer doing it this way as it’s quicker. Just spin your dubbing into a tight rope onto your thread as shown.Step 6: Wrap your dubbing rope around your hook shank very tightly. Step 7: Give your dubbed body a good scrub with a Velcro brush. This looks really buggy.Step 8: Lead your bunny strip back up to the head of the fly and tie down. Make sure that the length of the bunny strip is the same length as your Dacron backing.Step 9: Tie in an orange Guinea fowl hackle by the tip and wrap as a collar. Step 10: Tie in a marabou feather by the tip and once again wrap as a hackle. Step 11: Tie in two chickabou feathers on either side of the fly to form two pectoral fins. A sculpins pectoral fins are very pronounced so that’s something we want to simulate.Step 12: Make a good few wraps of thread as tight to the cone as possible and whip finish. This build of tying thread is important as we will superglue the inside of the cone and push it backwards onto this build up of thread to keep it secure. Then, wrap a little thread in front of the cone and superglue to lock that cone securely.Step 13: Cut off the excess wire of the intruder shank that we used to secure the fly in the vice. File the sharp edges of the cut off shank or cover with varnish to protect the Dacron.Done! Here’s the top profile of the finished fly. You can see the very distinct sculpin shape of this fly.
