Frankie 2 Times 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 I've been lurking for awhile. Thought it time to make myself know. I need some assistance with how to tie this fly. I believe its called a scud. For the life of me I can't figure out how to get the dubbing between the beads without doing one bead at a time, then dubbing. Tie off, cut and repeat. Am I missing something. The other issue I am having is threading the beads. Perhaps ihave the wrong beads, but I can barely get them over the hook point and around the bend. Where can I purchase the correct beads. Thanks. I caught a bunch of salmon and one steelhead on these last weekend and need to replenishmy supply. Thanks. F2T Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex C. 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 Thats an awesome scud pattern! I don't know about the "right" way to tie it, but what I'm gonna do when I tie a few of those for my steelhead box is 1- Put the beads on the hook first, slide them up towards the eye out of the way 2- tie in the tails 3-Dub the area between the tail and the rear bead 4-Whipfinish adn push rear bead back tight. 5-re attach the thread in front of the rear bead and dub 6-push the next bead back 7- repeat till you get to the head 8- dub the head area and whip finish Looks alot like angora goat for dubbing, but what are the tails, rubber leg stuff? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Worstcaster 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 If you are having trouble with the beads you can try this. Tie in a thin piece a clear plastic at the hook bend (a piece of zip-lock baggie will work well). Next tie in thin copper wire. Dub your thread and advance to just behind hook eye. Pull the plastic over the top of the fly and tie down. Next wrap the copper ribbing forward tight to get a segmented appearance. Whip finish, cut off excess plastic and ribbing over hook eye. Use you dubbing needle to pick out dubbing from the underside of the fly to get the look of legs you want. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Joe Hard 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 Unless you wrap the thread over the bead, which I think will make the fly weaker as the thread is exposed to the fishes teeth, one bead at a time. Dub and tie off with several half hitches or whip finnish knots. They look like glass beads, which are not all the same size. Some fit perfect or have lots of room. Others you have to fight with. You have to crush the barb. By taking a set of needle nose pliers, in front of the hook point facing the rear and pressing the barb down. I slip the bead on and if it needs to be forced on I will use the tips of the pliers to push it along the hook. Just pick glass beads with bigger holes in them to make it easier. I have had them shatter so watch your eyes, glasses of some sort I think with this pattern the glass beads give a transparent look which scuds have, but if you want to use brass or other types of fly tying beads, most fly tying shops have them. They have a hole in one end and a taper on the other so slipping arround the bend of the hook is easier. Have a look at J.Stockard's bead selection Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graham 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 I would spin the dubbing in a loop made of fine wire and wrap over and between the beads. I fish a bead bugger made that way which works well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frankie 2 Times 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 I actually bought a couple of these flies at a show just on w whim. The first evening on the river produced 8 fish before I lost one of the two I bought. The other stayed in the box and I attempted to duplicate it that evening with what I had in my travel bag. The beads I have tried were actual round plastic beads and were difficult to get on the hooks. I noticed the beads on the pattern fly may be glass, but the are doughnut shaped, not round. In an attempt to produce a few in a short period of time I had to improvise. I use kevlar thread and wrapped between and over the beads. Didn;t look pretty, but it worked. To my supprise the flies actually held up very well. In fact, I lonly had one/two come apart and that was because the beads broke trying to release fish using pliers. Dubbing in between each bead sounds like the way to go now tht I'll have more time. I have to admit that this little fly made this trip a whole lot of fun. I will definitely keep a handfull in my box. Sort of a cross between a shrimp and an egg. Whatever its suppose to be, it works. By the way, the tail is indeed rubber leg material. I still need a source or website where I can order the beads. Thanks F2T Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JJD 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 Check out your local Wal-Mart, Michael's or similar craft stores. Most have more bead colors, sizes, & types than you could imagine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Graham 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 I have a local store that just sells beads, and different threads, stretchy plastics and wires for stringing them onto. Thier customers are craft and jewely people and they have told to me that I'm the only one that has mentioned using beads for anything related to fishing. Michaels craft store has a good selection of beads as well. One thing I like about the beads from the bead store is that many of them have a metal sleeve inside, makes them stronger, and they sort of glow from the internal shine. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
verminous_titan 0 Report post Posted October 10, 2006 The best beads I have ever used for tying such flies are by a German company called Gutterman. Gutternam Beads Answering the point about the hook and the barb, is it such a problem if you loose the barb ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
deeky 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2006 As for getting the beads on the hook, use a lighter wire hook if you can. It makes a big difference. Also, looking at the fly you have pictured, it does look like a single, dubbed thread was used and looped over each bead along the bottom, rather than whipping, snipping, and restarting between each bead. I also think that would give too much bulk in between beads. Looks like this is what gives the extra bulk of dubbing along the bottom for the legs, too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frankie 2 Times 0 Report post Posted October 11, 2006 Also, looking at the fly you have pictured, it does look like a single, dubbed thread was used and looped over each bead along the bottom, rather than whipping, snipping, and restarting between each bead. Is there a trick to looping the single thread over the bottom of each bead? Seems I can't control the location of where the loop. A single thread would definitely speed up the process. What thread and dubbing type would you recommend? Frank Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Report post Posted October 13, 2006 It looks to me that they put a layer of dubbing down before they put the clear plastic or glass beads on the hook. It looks like a heavy wire hook, possibly a TMC1257, so if they used beads that had a larger opening to get it over the barb, the opening would be filled by the dubbing base layer. Then working bend to eye, tye in the tail and start dubbing. Pull the thread under each bead to get the slightly bearded look. That's my guess. If you are having trouble getting the thread to go under the hook rather than over the top or sides, try putting a half hitch in tight to the end of the bead in front then start dubbing again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites