Belly Scratcher Sculpin 2.0

Even picky fish can't resist this one

Several years ago I went on a sculpin rampage because of the number of sculpins that we have in our

Beady Eyes

local rivers.  There were some that came off the vise that were good, some that came off the vise that really sucked, but there were a few like El Sculpito, the Mohawk Sculpin, and the Belly Scratcher Sculpin that needed a bit of extra attention and development.  The Belly Scratcher in particular was such a pain that I kind of stopped tying it for a while due to the tedious forming of the fins.  I had talked to Jonathan Kiley who makes awesome latex fly parts and told him that he should develop some sculpin fins out of latex to make my pattern easier to tie.  The prototypes came, and not only did he nail that shape of the fins, he included a tail with each set of fins.  The tail added so much movement in the water that I decided to change the way the body was constructed.  Instead of rabbit, I built the body out of a 20mm shank and some AZ diamond dub. I also noticed that the head of the fly would not keep its shape very well if I relied just on the trim job that I would give it, so I reinforced the bottom of the head with UV resin.  Anyway, the initial tests have been very impressive with this new pattern and we will be releasing a larger version as well.  Let us know how this bug fishes for you!

~ Cheech 

Recipes under the video.

Recipes

Olive:

Shank: Flymen 20mm (+)

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S #1 (+)

Thread 1: Danville's 140 - Black (+)

Thread 2: Veevus 200D GSP - White (+)

Connection: Articulation wire (+)

Tail/fins: Kiley's Finz - Olive Medium (+)

Back body: AZ Diamond Dub - Bronze peacock (+)

Front body 1: AZ Mega Simi Seal - Dark olive (+)

Front body 2: Palmer Chenille - Olive (+)

Weighting system 1: 2  4.6mm tungsten beads - Gold  (+)

Weighting system 2: 1  3.8mm tungsten bead - Orange  (+)

Head: Bruiser Blend Jr. - Brown Olive  (+)

Tan:

Shank: Flymen 20mm (+)

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S #1 (+)

Thread 1: Danville's 140 - Tan (+)

Thread 2: Veevus 200D GSP - White (+)

Connection: Articulation wire (+)

Tail/fins: Kiley's Finz - Tan Medium (+)

Back body: AZ Diamond Dub - Tan (+)

Front body 1: AZ Mega Simi Seal - Amber Olive (+)

Front body 2: Palmer Chenille - Root beer (+)

Weighting system 1: 2  4.6mm tungsten beads - Gold  (+)

Weighting system 2: 1  3.8mm tungsten bead - Orange  (+)

Head: Bruiser Blend Jr. - Tan  (+)

Brown:

Shank: Flymen 20mm (+)

Hook: Gamakatsu B10S #1 (+)

Thread 1: Danville's 140 - Brown (+)

Thread 2: Veevus 200D GSP - White (+)

Connection: Articulation wire (+)

Tail/fins: Kiley's Finz - Brown Medium (+)

Back body: AZ Diamond Dub - Copper olive (+)

Front body 1: AZ Mega Simi Seal - Brown (+)

Front body 2: Palmer Chenille - Root Beer (+)

Weighting system 1: 2  4.6mm tungsten beads - Copper  (+)

Weighting system 2: 1  3.8mm tungsten bead - Orange  (+)

Head: Bruiser Blend Jr. - Barf Brown (+)

Other things used:
Loon Fluorescing UV Resin (+)
Loon UV Thick Resin (+)

Glue: Zap a Gap  (+)

Marker 1: Chartpak - Celery (Olive) (+)

Marker 2: Chartpak - Delta Brown (+)

Marker 3: Chartpak - Black (+)

Fugly Packer (+)

Rattle Bass Fangs scissors (+)