Simple Scud

[MrDucky]

Good news-I won the one on eBay. Bad news-Phil's had SEVERAL same price or cheaper! (Darn it!) Good news-I found a way to do it (I think) without it. Bad news-I won the one on eBay! Oh, well. I think it's fun, even if some of mine came out looking really funny so far. I will get the fur ant right!

[SLIPPERY SI]

WHEN ADDING THE DUBBING: I WAS TAUGHT TO TWIST THE DUBBING ONTO THE THREAD...IS THERE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN MAKING THE LOOP? DOES ANYONE WEIGHT THE HOOK DOWN (LEAD WIRE)? P.S. I HAVE ONLY BEEN TYING SIZE 16....AND HAVE ONLY BEEN TYING FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW ALSO!!

[Terry Beeson]

Twisting dubbing on will make a more "sleek" looking fly body. A dubbing loop will make the body more "spikey" and "buggy." Gordon McKenzie uses a dubbing loop with squirrel tail to make hackle for many of his flies.

As for weight, sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. Depends on how I want to fish a scud.

I was advised by a guide one time NOT to weight a scud - to use a split shot to get it down. He indicated a weighted scud will not give a really "natural" presentation. I'm not convinced of that, but using a split shot with an unweighted scud certainly works...

[SLIPPERY SI]

THANKS TERRY,

i think i have this scud 5 different ways now...probably time to move on to something else!! hahaha i have never tried using the loop for dubbing though...may need to try that!! as for weight.. i was at taney all day sunday and caught fish on unweighted and when it slowed down i put on one of the first scuds i had tied w/ weight (absolutly ugly, wire showing and all) and ended catching a good size bow w/ it, so it's tough to say which direction to go!!! thanks for all the input guys!!!

simon

[jOrOb]

I know guys that have tied for years and have never used a dubbing loop. I love to use it. Like Terry said, the dubbing loop gives you an excellent buggy dub. I even like to use a loop to make my egg patterns.

It just gives you another option. You can make a dubbing tool out of a paper clip and it will work just fine. Just bend it into a v with hooks on either end.

If you like, I will try to find a pic to post.

[SLIPPERY SI]

that would be great....i really have no idea how to create or utilize this loop thing....pics or even a link would be a great deal of help!!! as you can tell i need all the help i can get!!

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

Hey jOrOb, how do you make your egg patterns with a dubbing loop? That sounds interesting and would be interested in learning this technique.

Thanks,

John

[jOrOb]

OK, here is a short description of how I learned to make a dubbing tool:

Start with a Jumbo paper clip. Straighten both legs so that you have one bend.

Next, make a V bend in the shorter leg, a little over halfway from the end. You need more on the tip to make the next bend. It really doesn't matter how long the bends are, as long as they are all there.

Now make another V bend in the tip. Try to make the legs of the first V about equal length. Put some angle in the long leg so that you can spin the big V without too much wobble.

I found the tool to be hard to hold onto (and pickup off the bench). I wrapped mine with tape to make the handle thicker, but anything would work.

Here are three examples. The one on the right, as well as the one in the middle, I made. My 11 year old son made the one on the left.

To use, wrap your thread around the Big V, then back to the hook shank. The V will hold the loop open while you insert material. Spin the loop as you insert material to hold it in place. Once you get enough material, spin the crap out of the loop to create a nice tight rope. Grab the loop above your dubbing tool with your hackle pliers, then slide the V out of the loop. You are ready to palmer (or whatever you are doing with the dubbing).

It is pretty easy and makes a really buggy fly. I sometimes put a little dubbing wax on one side of the loop to hold material before I start spinning if I am using a really coarse dubbing.

As for the Dubbed Egg, I learned it from Charlies fly Box. I could never get the traditional egg to hold together. Check it out here.

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/de...cfm?parentID=27

Let me know if it works for you.

[Thom]

Very interesting. I tie my egg patterns with a tapered fountian pen end or soda straw depending on how large it want it. Last trip down I purchased a kit from anglers and archer fly shop with several size tips in it. I can load several colors of mcfly or yarn and stack it in my box. I can usually tie a fly in about 5-7 minutes this way. I am going to try the dubbing loop though just for fun. I have made them and bought them both. both work well but the bought ones usually have some kind of a handle.

Egg flys have saved several trips for me when they are running lots of water. Drifted bumping the bottom they are killers. Usually takes longer to get the fish unhooked and back into the water than to get another one on.

Most of the egg patterns that I tie are multicolored or at least with a small patch of red mixed into the main color.

[jOrOb]

I favor the unreal egg these days. It has a glass bead, so it gets down quicker, plus I tie mine with an antron, so it is pretty durable. I like the dubbing egg if I am looking for a really small pattern.

Of course I have also cheated and glued 2mm pom poms from Michaels onto the hook. Those work pretty well.

I like to hang a scud below an egg and bounce the whole thing along the bottom.