FLY TYING: HOW TO TIE SCULPZILLA
FLY TYING: HOW TO TIE SCULPZILLA
Asheville Fly Fishing Company
Sculpzilla is a popular pattern that imitates one of the brown trout’s favorite baitfish, the sculpin. On the South Holston River and Watauga River, it is a streamer pattern that often finds its way into our rotation when targeting predatory fish.
Sculpins are stubby baitfish with rounded heads, wide pectoral fins and a tapered body. Coloration varies depending on watershed and species, but most are shades of brown, black, olive and tan with darker mottling and light bellies. The wide pectoral fins help them hold to the of the bottom river but they are often swept away by quicker currents. In their search for food, they clumsily dart and pause along the riverbed often grabbing the attention of large, predatory trout looking for an easy meal.
This pattern can be fished in a variety of ways. On larger rivers like the east Tennessee Tailwaters we find it is very effective when fished from a drift boat casting along the banks and on the bottom near fast riffles. Try quartering casts downstream and waiting a few seconds for the fly to sink into the strike zone before stripping it back to the boat. During the retrieve, line mends, rod twitches and abrupt stops all work together to mimic their erratic swimming behavior.
Sculpzilla is a great “guide fly” as it closely imitates the natural while remaining a quick pattern to tie. The heavy cone head makes sure your fly quickly gets into the strike zone, the marabou and extra turn of rabbit strip build up the wide tapered profile while the guinea feather adds the look of bloody gill plates. This pattern can be tied in several colors but common variations are black, natural, olive and white. If you are unsure of which colorway to begin with, try matching the fly to the color of the substrate of your home river.
MATERIALS
Gamakatsu Octopus stinger hook #4
X-eyed cone size medium
1/8’’ Rabbit strip
Polar chenille
Guinea feather
Marabou
35 mm articulated fish shank
20 lb. Dacron or bite wire for articulation
MATERIAL PREPERATION
Cut a 6” length of rabbit strip
Slide X-Eyed Cone onto articulated shank
Cut a 6” length of articulation wire material