Rocky River Trout Unlimited

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    • Fly of the Month Patterns >
      • DRY FLY PATTERNS >
        • Adams Variant
        • Asher
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        • Dry Pheasant Tail Variant
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        • Hopper Juan
        • Infallible
        • Japanese Beetle
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        • Light Cahill Catskill
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        • Trude
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      • Dry Attractor
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        • Mr. Rapidan
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        • Amy's Ant
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        • Parachute Ant
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      • Wet Fly Patterns >
        • Black Gnat
        • Blue Charm FFI
        • Breadcrust
        • Coachman
        • Cock-y-Bundhu
        • Cooper Bug
        • Grizzly King
        • Ibis
        • Parmacheene Belle
        • Orange and Partridge Soft Hackle FFIFFI
        • Red Ass Soft Hackle
        • Tups Indespensible
    • Fly Patterns
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    • Fly Fishing >
      • RRTU Reference Fly Tying >
        • Entomology Basics
        • More Entomology Basics
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    • Fly Casting
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        • Archive History >
          • Archive History
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            • FORR 2020
    • Calendar Copy
  • RRTU Store
  • Tips - Tying
  • Rocky River TU
    • RRTU Events >
      • Monthly Meetings
      • Streamside Day Trips
      • Alarka Trips
      • Fly Tying Classes >
        • Instructional Tyers
    • Davidson River HEP
    • Conservation >
      • Conservation Partners >
        • NC Camo Coalition
    • Diversity >
      • WOMEN ON THE FLY
      • BSA Merit Badge
    • We welcome your feedback!
    • Become a TU Member
    • Mission and Brief History
  • FORR
  • Programs
    • Trout In The Classroom
    • RiverCourse Fly Fishing Youth Camp
    • Casting Carolinas
    • Wilson Creek Adopt-A-Stream and Stream Watch
    • South Mountain Adopt-A-Park
    • Stone Mountain State Park
  • Resources
    • Fly of the Month Patterns >
      • DRY FLY PATTERNS >
        • Adams Variant
        • Asher
        • Atherton No 5
        • Baigent's Variant
        • Blue Quill
        • BWO
        • BWO Catskill
        • BWO CDC Emerger
        • BWO Sparkle Dun
        • BWO Spinner
        • Carolina Wulff
        • CDC Biot Comparadun
        • CDL Comparadun
        • Coachman Variant
        • Conner's October Caddis
        • Crackleback
        • Dragonfly Dry
        • Dry Pheasant Tail Variant
        • Dun Fly, August Fly,Wasp Fly
        • Early Nelson
        • Egg Laying Caddis
        • Troth Elk Hair Caddis FFI
        • Elk Hair Caddis
        • EZ Caddis
        • Female Adams
        • Fluttering Caddis
        • Ginger Quill
        • Gray Fox Variant
        • Grey Hackle Yellow Dry
        • Griffith's Gnat
        • Hazel Creek
        • Hendrickson
        • H & L Variant
        • Hopper Juan
        • Infallible
        • Japanese Beetle
        • Jassid
        • Jim Charley
        • Klinkhamer
        • Lacewing
        • Light Cahill Catskill
        • Little Green and Little Yellow Stonefly
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • North Carolina Yellow Sally
        • FFI Parachute Adams
        • Parachute Adams
        • Pheasant Tail Dry Fly.Skues
        • Puff Diddy
        • October Caddis
        • Orange Forked Tail
        • Rattler
        • Red Headed Caddis
        • Smoky Mountian Candy
        • Sunkist
        • Trude
        • Rusty Spinner
        • Sulphurs Part 1
        • Sulphur Part 2
        • Yellow Palmer
      • Dry Attractor
      • Midges >
        • Grey Goose Midge Emerger
        • Morgan's Midge
      • Nymphs >
        • Brassie
        • Chironimid
        • Copper John
        • Crossover Nymph
        • Crow Fly
        • Damsel Fly Nymph
        • Deep Sparkle Caddis Pupa
        • Devil's Doorstop
        • Girdle Bug
        • Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear
        • Guinea
        • Hare's Ear Nymph FFI
        • Hot Creek Special
        • Mr. Rapidan
        • Peridgon Nymph
        • BH Prince Nymph FFI
        • BH Prince Nymph
        • Realistic Stonefly
        • Royal Prince
        • Secret Weapon
        • Scud
        • Egan's Tasmanian Devil
        • Tups Indespensible
      • Pupae/Larva
      • Scud >
        • UV Scud
      • Soft Hackles >
        • Center Bead Soft Hackle
        • Grey Hackle Soft hackle
        • Orange Partridge Soft Hackle
      • Terrestrials >
        • Amy's Ant
        • Alen's Cow Killer
        • Cricket
        • Inchworm
        • Jack Cabe Hopper
        • Little River Ant
        • Moth
        • Murray's Flying Beetle
        • Parachute Ant
        • Texas Piss Ant
      • Wet Fly Patterns >
        • Black Gnat
        • Blue Charm FFI
        • Breadcrust
        • Coachman
        • Cock-y-Bundhu
        • Cooper Bug
        • Grizzly King
        • Ibis
        • Parmacheene Belle
        • Orange and Partridge Soft Hackle FFIFFI
        • Red Ass Soft Hackle
        • Tups Indespensible
    • Fly Patterns
    • RRTU Class Recipes
    • NC General Hatch Charts
    • Fly Shops, Outfitters and Guides
    • Fly Fishing >
      • RRTU Reference Fly Tying >
        • Entomology Basics
        • More Entomology Basics
      • More Fly Fishing Basics
      • Fly Fishing Tips
      • Trout Fishing & Trout Fishing Stories
    • Fly Casting
    • History, Reading, References >
      • S. Appalachian & Smoky Mtn History >
        • Archive History >
          • Archive History
          • FORR Campaign >
            • FORR 2020
    • Calendar Copy
  • RRTU Store
  • Tips - Tying
Picture
UV Scud
Fly of the Month 12.22


There is a creature that trout love to eat that lives in and around aquatic grass in shallow waters mostly only hip deep where there is thick aquatic vegetation. They are 100% aquatic, totally underwater always. It is a Crustacean and close relative of the crayfish and shrimp. They are active all year long, all seasons. However, with many other choices to imitate during the spring, summer and fall, these creatures become most important to the angler during the winter months. Their presence in the right habitat can produce at least twenty percent of a trout’s diet. So, it’s presence often leads to larger trout. The creature is a scud!  However, we are presenting a special version, the Ultraviolet Scud (tied with materials that reflect a special wavelength of light believed to be more visible to trout).

UV Scud

Many fly fishers refer to scuds as freshwater shrimp. The difference between them is in their legs. Shrimp have three distinct sections with their legs all near their head section. Scud have fourteen sets of legs spread along the entire lower body. An easy way to know the difference is when you pick one up, a scud will curl into a curve shape and a shrimp will try to spring away from you. Thus, the reason most scud fly patterns are tied on a curved hook. The curved shape may well represent a scud out of water or spent and drifting in a current, but while in the water swimming or climbing on vegetation, a scud is not so curved. Tying scud fly patterns on a straight shanked hook can be just as appropriate as an imitation. A challenging and unusual scud fly pattern to consider is a “double scud” or “mating scud” as scud piggy back each other to mate. (from FOTM 02.17 Scud)

There are ninety species of scud found in North America. The species of importance to we anglers and the trout is the Gammaridae family. The most obvious habitats for scud are spring creeks and tailraces with a high pH that produce an abundance of aquatic vegetation. However, some streams that are influenced by nutrient flows from hatcheries upstream or managed farming run-off also grow shore line grasses with root systems and stems underwater. If you fish the South Holston River tailrace in East Tennessee, the Scud or UV Scud is a must have fly pattern to carry. (from FOTM 02.17 Scud)

Young scud molt about a dozen times before they become adults. Thus, to imitate a scud, tie same fly pattern in different sizes from size 12 to size 22 and in the colors of gray, tan, green, yellow, cream and orange. Smaller size 22 or size 20 should only be gray, tan or green and larger size 12 or size 14 should only be yellow or cream. UV material may be used for any of these colors but the actual effectiveness is suspect.

Orange scud, a scud with and orange spot or scud with a band of orange are more precise imitations and can be very important to pay attention to. UV material for the orange is ideal. These color variations are important due a parasite Pomphorhynchus laevis that lives in the intestinal tract of a scud and turns part of the scud orange thus forming an orange band. The parasite uses the scud as a carrier to ultimately get into the intestinal tract of a fish where it completes its life-cycle, while all along feeding off both carriers. If a scud dies with the parasite, the entire scud turns orange in color. Scud that die without the parasite turn cream in color.
Another color variation is a scud fly pattern with a distinct orange spot or “hot spot” which imitates an egg bearing scud. Scud mate from late spring, when the water warms up, through to the late summer or early fall, when the water cools. The fall is the ideal time to fish the egg bearing scud as the vegetation dies down and the “hot spot” is very visible. In general, scud are active year-round. However, with more choices to imitate in the warmer months, scud fly patterns are a good choice during winter fly fishing.
Scud do not like bright lights, thus in general, a scud fly pattern is more effective during times of low light around dawn and dusk and during overcast days. Otherwise, scud fly patterns must be heavy enough to get down near bottom where scud hide away from any intense daylight. To get the scud fly pattern down on vegetation, either a heavy hook, added lead (or lead substitute) wire as an underbody, or a bead is typically used. Some scud fly patterns place the bead in the center of the body, hidden away under the legs of picked out dubbing. Since the bead typically imitates an air bubble and this is not a characteristic of a scud, a bead either should not be used or should be well hidden.

Scud are good swimmers, but they swim in short bursts of speed and in an erratic almost sideways manner. Your retrieve should be somewhat jerky and ready for a soft take.

UV Scud
Fly of the Month 12.22

Tom Adams and Alen Baker










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