Mini Meat Sculpin instructions

GET IN MY BELLY!!!!!!!

Here is a new little sculpin pattern that I have been tying called the Mini Meat Sculpin.  This fly is a very easy tie and be tied in bulk quickly.  It's derived from the Meat Helmet Sculpin that Rich Strolis created, shown below.

The Mini Meat comes in at a mere 3 inches, which is about is small as I will fish when it comes to streamer fishing.  I tie them in olive and brown currently.

Mini Meat Sculpin

Hook: Daiichi 1750 #4 or similar
Tail: Finn Raccoon
Body: CCT body fur - Tan
Fins: Finn Raccoon
Underbody: Red Senyo Laser Yarn
Head: Fish Skull Sculpin Helmet

1.  Tie in your raccoon tail about the length of your hook, maybe a touch longer.

2.  Tie in the CCT Body fur and palmer it up to about 1/4" from the eye of the hook.

3.  Trim the body into a tapered look, at the back I leave a little un-cut to smoothly transition into the tail.  The bottom of the fly can be cut un tapered and straight across the length of the hook.

Bottom view

4.  Tie in some pectoral fins from some more raccoon, the fins should extend out and when pulled back should extend to the start of the CCT fur.

5. Add some red laser yarn to the bottom of the body to give an injured look.

6. Put some zap a gap on the front of the hook and put on a Sculpin Helmet, so the hook is inverted.  Add some eyes to the helmet.  Then color the fly with a permanent marker.  I also add another color to have a mottled effect.  If its brown I add a touch of black.  If its olive I add a touch of brown.

River X

Some water is just better left under the radar of the public eye.  My buddy Derek and I headed to the water for a day of hog hunting.  We got to the water and found the clarity at about a foot to foot and a half.  Perfect!!!  We rigged up and instantly I hooked up with an 18" brown. 


In my mind I was hoping this fish wouldn't doom the day, as it seems like when you get into a fish right off the bat sometimes the day can be a challenge to land another.  We worked our way up occasionally moving fish for the next few hours.  We hadn't landed anything since my second cast, however I knew that we were getting into the better part of the stretch of water. So we kept slammin that meat in the water to find that pig.

Long time waiting

Derek started it off finding a couple 19 inchers.  Then the rain and thunderstorm came, which we saw as a lunch break in some nearby willows.  After the storm things were alive on the water with fish rising to knocked down bugs from the storm.

I came up to a  hole with an old car body in it.  I casted it the small run entering the deep hole and got this 20" brown.

26" - Articulated Banshee

Then on my very next cast in the same hole I put it about 2" from the bank, I instantly saw a big object swirl my fly but did not hit.  I let the fly run the the length of the hole, which I saw this fish chase it down and BAM!! After one missed net job we got him on the next try.  His shoulders were massive and that is my one regret photography wise that we did not get a good pic of that.

I love crawdad orange

Right before release

Tough to improve the day after a back to back 20+ inch fish, we found a way to continue finding some nice fish.  I switched to one of my black and olive patterns and nailed this guy.

That's a mouthfull

As the day neared it's end Derek begged the river God for a landed fish over 20 inches which he had not landed yet that day.  Sometimes you just get what ya ask. 

Derek's wish 22"

All in all a pretty good day of meat chuckin.  Here in Montana it takes a lot of time, gas and effort to find these gems that not too many people know about.  I encourage you to search some new water that maybe you think might not hold fish, much less trophy fish, you might find your own little gem.

The Banshee

You can tie these in any color you like.  I like the jig hook with this guy to give it that extra wiggle that those big browns like so much.  I am a huge fan of the UV polar chenille and just about anything I tie these days has some in there.  There is something about that purple hue that it gives off that make em go nuts.

I also tie these guys in an articulated pattern, to add a little length and horizontal wiggle.

Welcome, welcome, welcome!!!

Hello and welcome to my blog!!!  This blog is dedicated to tying streamers of all sizes, mainly big and finding those trout that don't like to show their face to often.  I plan on providing you will step by step tutorials or videos of me tying streamers, fishing outing reports, and anything that has to do with hunting for those big mysterious trout.  I also plan on having some sort of fly store that you can purchase some of my favorite streamers.

I have been tying for 10 years now, (most of my college years were spent at the vise or river and not at class), and I love being innovative creating new patterns or hijacking someone else's pattern and adding a new twist.  I am constantly looking for that magical new bug that is going to consistently bring in the big dogs. 

Streamers are what I fish 95% of my days on the water.  Here in Montana you always have a chance at landing one of those mutant trout when you are chucking meat! Many of my streamers that I throw are those ones that are so big and heavy that you need to watch yourself on the back cast or you are likely to have a new piercing, but I am a strong believer in the bigger the pattern the bigger the fish.  Therefore, I fish those 5-8 inch patterns a lot!

I am really excited to provide you some great patterns that I have, and I hope they inspire you!  I am going to start you off light in a few days, giving you one of my smaller flies that I fish, the Banshee!