Tying and Fly Fishing Scud Patterns

B. C. Shrimp Developed by Doug Stewart

Years ago, many lakes in British Columbia had huge Kamloops Trout and massive populations of freshwater shrimp and Huff Lake was no exception. After the spring thaw in June most lakes were fishable and the Kamloops trout fed voraciously on scuds (shrimp), caddisflies, dragonflies and midges. They could add several pounds to their body mass before the end of the fall season. Their tremendous growth spurt was very noticeable as they developed heavy shoulders and thick bodies that made them look out of proportion. They looked like footballs! One glutton weighed five pounds and was only twenty inches long, and I played and lost another one that was at least ten pounds or more.

I was intrigued by a scud’s spasmodic movement and its shimmering and translucent-green appearance, so I tied a fly to simulate its striking color and motion. It had a short peacock sword tail, a green body with silver ribbing, a yellow hackle throat and a yellow over white calf tail wing. It became an excellent pattern and I called it the Huff Lake Shrimp.

However, I later made a minor change by tying the calf tail down to simulate the back of a shrimp. After that the fly worked even better, and because of this alternation I renamed it the B.C. Shrimp.

Materials:

Hook: 9671 Mustad sizes 12-8

Thread: 3/0 black monocord

Tail: Several short peacock sword clips with yellow over white calf tail tips

Body: Insect green yarn and silver oval rib

Hackle: Yellow sparsely tied

Back: Yellow over white calf tail tied down