Bamboo and a break in the smoke

[Para_Adams]

The golden scud is a Steve Raymond pattern. You can find the tying details in his book Kamloops.

I found a scud in a boat at Meadow lakes fishing camp which had a couple strands of olive flashabou tied over the body before the clear shellback is pulled over and secured by tinsel. I think the little extra flash can't hurt so have incorporated it in my scud patterns.

View attachment 191333

View attachment 191334

We added pearlescent backs to our scuds in the late 80's with great success in E WA lakes and Rocky Ford. My buddy visited Thuya Lakes Resort in BC one summer and shared the flashy pattern with the resort, and the following season the resort was selling them to their guests as the hot new fly. Somehow I stopped fishing them over the years and I wonder why? They worked really well.

 

[speyflyfisher]

The fly in question originated from a report of success in high lakes with a fly called the Stayner Ducktail. A quick internet search revealed the pattern below.

The Stayner Ducktail is a classic wet fly and streamer pattern invented in the 1960s by Ruel Stayner, a sporting goods store owner from Twin Falls, Idaho designed to imitate perch fry.

Materials and Recipe

• • Hook: Long-shank streamer hook (sizes 4–10)
  • Thread: Black
  • Tail: Red or orange hackle fibers
  • Ribbing: Gold Mylar tinsel
  • Body: Olive chenille (solid or variegated)
  • Throat: Red or orange hackle fibers (beard style)
  • Wing: Mottled mallard flank feather tied flat-wing style over the back

As I generally like to tie with natural materials and on trout flies tend to deviate from the proscribed pattern. My variant replaced orange hackle for the tail and throat with golden pheasant breast feathers. Seal dubbing for the chenille, silver metal tinsel instead of Mylar and gadwall for the mallard. The changes also make it more like a spey fly like a Lady Caroline, a style of fly I enjoy tying. I’ve had good success with this fly anti think the flash from the broad tinsel can attract fish from the depths in clear lakes.