Whitlock Sculpin

Created by Dave Whitlock

HOOK: TMC 300, sizes 1/0-8 THREAD: Brown RIB: Oval gold tinsel BODY: Cream wool yarn GILLS: Red wool dubbing TAIL: Two brown-dyed grizzly hackles. Tie to body with ribbing, and let hackles extend past hook bend about as long as the hook shank. PECTORAL FINS: Brown hen mallard breast HEAD: Brown deer hair in back, with band of black deer hair near the hook eye. Spin the deer hair and clip. Add eyes.

Uses

Sculpins (aka "bullheads") are often eaten by large, predatory trout, both in rivers and in lakes. This is one of many sculpin patterns that anglers have devised.

Variations

Use olive for thread, light olive for body, olive for tail, pectoral fins, and head.

How to Fish

Use a sink-tip or full sinking line and a count-down-and-retrieve or slow retrieve presentation. Sometimes make the fly move with quick darts: give it a short fast strip, then let it sit, then strip again; and so on. The main thing is to be at the right depth (it will vary) and to make the fly move like it is alive.