Scud Muffin
Tying The Scud Muffin
Hook: Umpqua U202, Tiemco 2488H, or equivalent scud hook, sizes 14-24
Antenna: olive or wood duck dyed mallard flank
Dubbing: mixture of superfine and ice dub, colors in olive, tan, pink, or any other combinations that suit your fancy
Shell: olive, tan, or pink scud back
Ribbing: gold, chartreuse, or red ultrawire, size small
Thread: olive, tan, or pink 8/0 uni-thread
- Trim a section of mallard flank, keeping all the tips even.
- Tie onto hook and wrap toward the bend, leaving the tips hanging off the rear about 1/2-1/3 the length of the hook
- Tie in the wire and then the scud back, stretch the scud back as you tie it in and wrap to the back. This will decrease the bulk on the hook and help create a nicely tapered body.
- I like to use a mixture of half ice dub and half superfine dubbing.
- Blend the fibers together to create an irresistible, fishy mixture
- Loosely roll your dubbing mixture onto the thread.
- Wrap dubbing forward, tapering the body towards the front and back of hook, leaving it thickest in the middle.
- Bring scud back forward, pull tight, and tie down.
- Wrap wire forward, tie down, then clip excess wire and scud back material.
- Use bodkin or needle to tease out fibers on the front half of the scud to create legs.
- Whip finish, add tying cement, and you are finished.
This is a very easy fly to tie but a few pointers will make it even easier. Clip the scud back into a point before you tie it down to reduce bulk. Also, wrap the wire forward over the scud back before you clip off the excess scud back. This will save you the annoyance of having the thread loosen and the scud back flip back before you have a chance to rib the wire over it. Experiment with different combinations of wire color, scud back color, and dubbing color to find what works best in your area.
