After having found plenty of scuds in my stream screen while on the Little Lehigh, it’s time to tie a few of my scud patterns for my next outing. Scuds are one of the most important food items for trout. They are considered Crustaceans and are really nothing more than miniature fresh water shrimp.

I always like to try new materials when tying flies and it’s always nice when you can use something that’s cheap. In this case it’s a heavy duty freezer bag. Before you begin tying the fly, cut the bag into strips about 1/16^th to 1/8^th inch wide by an inch long. Cut one for each fly you plan to tie.

I’m using Orvis Life Cycle Caddis dubbing for this fly. It has a nice Antron sparkle that makes the scud appear more life like.

For this pattern I’m using a Mustad C49S Caddis curved hook in size 14. Any curved Caddis hook will do. Start tying your thread on around the middle of the hook. Wind it back to the midway of the hook bend.

Tie in a dubbing loop about 2 -3 inches long. You wont use all of it, but the size makes it easier to work with. The dubbing loop will be used for the rib. Now tie in one of the freezer bag strips that you cut.

Wax the thread and spin a dubbing noodle on it. Wrap the thread forward making a tight body. Now pull the freezer bag strip over the top of the body and tie it off at the head with three turns of thread. Trim off the extra plastic.

Use your dubbing needle to pull out some of the dubbing from the bottom of the fly. These will be the legs. Grab the dubbing loop with your loop tool or hackle pliers and spin it tight. Now make 3 or 4 turns toward the hook eye. This will segment the body and add strength as well. Tie off the dubbing loop and whip finish the head. Add a drop of head cement. You can go back and tease some more dubbing out from the bottom of the fly if necessary.

There you have it. A simple and inexpensive nymph pattern that is very effective on trout.

Materials Used:

Mustad C49S Caddis curved hook or equivalent, size 14.

Orvis Life Cycle Caddis Dubbing Grey

Grey 6/0 monobond thread or equivalent.

Plastic bag strips 1/8^th to 1/16^th inch wide by 1 inch long.