El Sculpito Dos - Updated!

A small streamer with a bad attitude

The new and improved El Sculpito

***UPDATE***
Shortly after writing this article, I started on tweaking the Sculpito into something that could be done with more readily available products.  The major change is the head which is now made of Mega

Simi Seal.  There is also one change that I made after making the video, and that's the thread that I use for the head of this fly.  I was having issues with thread breakage when I wrapped the head due to having to cram it in between the barbell eyes so tight.  I switched to GSP and it fixed the problem.  GSP thread usually comes in black or white, so you may need to tag it with a marker.  The olive and tan El Sculpito is among our top selling flies on the site, and we see pictures from all over the country with fish that have been fooled by this pattern.

Here are the updated recipes:

Olive El Sculpito:
Hook: Allen B200 #4 -8 BUY HERE or Gamakatsu B10S #1-4 BUY HERE
Barbell Eyes: Brass Barbell w/eye - red (5.5mm for B200 #4-6  and B10S #1-2) (4.8mm for B200 #8 and B10S #4) BUY HERE
Thread: UTC 140 - olive (body) BUY HERE and Veevus 100D GSP - black (head) BUY HERE
Body: Arizona Mega Simi Seal - Dark Brown Olive BUY HERE
Tail: Rabbit Zonker Strips - Olive BUY HERE
Pectoral Fins: Silicon streamer legs - Olive gold BUY HERE
Head: Arizona Mega Simi Seal - Dark Brown Olive BUY HERE
Stripes: Black Sharpie

Tan El Sculpito:
Hook: Allen B200 #4 -8 BUY HERE or Gamakatsu B10S #1-4 BUY HERE
Barbell Eyes: Brass Barbell w/eye - yellow (5.5mm for B200 #4-6  and B10S #1-2) (4.8mm for B200 #8 and B10S #4) BUY HERE
Thread: UTC 140 - Tan (body) BUY HERE and Veevus 100D GSP - white (head) BUY HERE
Body: Arizona Mega Simi Seal - Golden Shiner BUY HERE
Tail: Rabbit Zonker Strips - Grizzly or Tan BUY HERE
Pectoral Fins: Silicon streamer legs - Speckled Pumpkin BUY HERE
Head: Arizona Mega Simi Seal - Golden Shiner BUY HERE
Stripes: Brown Sharpie

Tools used:
Turbo Dubbing Spinner BUY HERE or Stonfo Elite Rotodubbing Twister BUY HERE
Griffin Supreme Ceramic Bobbin BUY HERE
Dr. Slick 4" Tungsten Scissors BUY HERE
Dr. Slick All-In-One Dubbing Brush BUY HERE




Buy El Sculpito HERE

Version of El Sculpito

***Original Article***

It seems that articulated flies are all the rage right now, but there is definitively still a place in our hearts (and in fish lips)  for the one hook variety of streamers.  El Sculpito, like many of the patterns that I tie, is more of a concept than an exact recipe, and many of the materials can be added/subtracted to your liking.  When I started this concept, I wanted to make a pattern that wasn't too complex, and that would slither over rocks without hanging up.  I knew the tail was going to be rabbit, but the rest of the fly was kind of up in the air.  I used Arizona Mega Simi Seal (AZMSS) for the body (and eventually for the head too), because it has a wide variety of colors and isn't overburdened with flash.  By using AZMSS in the fly it eliminates the need to add flash of any kind and makes the bug even faster to tie.  Pectoral fins on sculpins are what really make or break them because the head and fins should have a wide, flat profile.  I had been tying some bass jigs and had a bunch of skirt material (sili legs) laying on the table, so on they went.  They looked really cool on the vise, but I didn't realize what they would do for the action of the fly in the water until I actually fished it (see below).  Then came the head...  Deer hair?  Nope, I want to keep it simple.  Wool?  Nope, even more simple.  I grabbed some Congo Hair and started cutting it up to make a super dubbing.  The dubbing consists of multiple colors of congo hair cut about 2 inches long and blended all up with combs and dog brushes (coffee grinders don't take to well to this stuff).  I attached the dubbing using a dubbing loop, and it actually brushed out really well and held its shape even in the water.  I have since moved to AZMSS dubbing for the head due to a wider array of colors available.  For the eyes, I have been using lead barbell eyes with CCG eyes super glued  to them, but if I want to simplify the pattern I add  Spirit River I-Balz eyes or Allen Fly Fishing barbell eyes.

This Splake found it hard to resist

Field tests have been completed, and not only did the fish munch it up, it swims great and slithers over rocks just as I suspected it would.  One of the coolest features was that the sili legs are somewhat buoyant, and make the back half of the fly kick up after it is stripped kind of like a jigging motion.  Many more variations to come.

~ Cheech

Recipe:

Hook: Allen B200 #4 -8 (BUY HERE)
Thread: Uni 6/0 (body) and Veevus 100D GSP (head) (Uni, Veevus)

Hook: Allen Fly Fishing B200  -- Buy Here --
Thread: Uni 6/0.  Bigger thread is important so I can cinch the dubbing loop between the eyes.
Tail: Rabbit strip.  Normal size for smaller patterns, and magnum for larger patterns.  -- Buy Here --
Body: Arizona Mega Simi Seal. Colors include Dark Olive and Dark Olive Brown  -- Buy Here --
Pectoral fins: Skirt material from www.fishingskirts.com (seriously, you should check this site out.)
Eyes: Barbell Eyes  -- Buy Here --
Head: Same as body, OR try our new Bruiser Blend with longer, more brushable fibers  -- Buy Here --

Shown in a smaller size with simi seal dubbing. (this is the one in the fish lip above.)

Original pattern with I-Balz and Congo Hair

Original pattern with I-Balz and Congo Hair