Tuesday, January 22, 2013

What They Look Like - Scuds

Hey Everyone,



This year I have been playing around with a "fly" that I have only used on lakes before. I started to really think about winter insects like bwo's and winter stone flies, and then it dawned on me. Not everything has to hatch. That's what got me thinking about scuds. For those of you that think I'm talking about my time in Iraq not to worry. I'm talking about a small species of fresh water shrimp. These small crustaceans live in almost all bodies of water including caves and water twice as salty as the sea. Because they are pretty much defenceless they tend to hide in vegetation and are mostly nocturnal. Also because they are semitransparent scuds take on the color of their surroundings. Paying attention to the colors in the water will tell you what colors are best to run although olive and tans are most common. In some lakes scuds are one of the most abundant food sources for trout making up to half of a trouts diet. Although scuds can reproduce a few times a year they do not "hatch" thus making them a viable fly to fish year round. Because scuds don't venture from cover often they are best fished near to or bouncing along the bottom. Next time your on the river and can't seem to find anything they want, try a scud, you may be on to something.

See you on the trail,
Lance

7 comments:

  1. I really love tying scuds, but in all honesty, I've never fished them since I don't do lakes often any more. Interesting critters Lance.

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  2. Having done a significant amount of lake fishing in my years, I can attest to the importance of having a good Scud pattern. Trout love them and often times grow healthy and chunky. My kind of fish! Fishing them on certain streams is a good tip. Nice blog, Lance. First time commenting.

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  3. Thanks guys. I think its one of the least used and often forgotten patterns. In fact it might be a good trick on pressured water.

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  4. That's probably why tore up nymph patterns that kind of unravel and get fuzzy work.

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  5. Lance
    Probably one of the most underated flies that is use in trout fishing. I used this fly when nothing else works and most of the time it will produce. Thanks for sharing

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  6. Sounds like we grew up the same way. Semper Fi !

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  7. Scuds are prevalent in Spring Creeks and not just still water.

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