Scud life cycle?

[mrjim 0]

Several times a year I fish the Taneycomo river in Missouri (Branson) for trout and one of their main food sources is scuds (not many hatches there other than midges). Quite a few people have them in their aquariums to watch....... Does anyone know when they lay eggs and when they shed their shells - is it tied to moon phases, length of days, water temp or ??? Also - when their shell if first shed, the new shell is very light but is the color that their shells take on tied to the color of the bottom (colors used may be light grey /dark grey /charcoal /olive /brown)?

[Guest]

I've never taken scud samples at Taney, but I have in several other "similar" waters. There is never a consistant size or color, if you dump them all out in a tray after you are done collecting them you will have itty-bitty ones, big thumbnail sized ones, transparent grayish ones and ones with various shades of tan, or olive (all collected in the same area). I doubt that the fish would be anal enough to discriminate between them.

 

They are supposed to turn "pinkish-orange" when they die and although I've personally never seen a pinkish-orange one I do use them in off colored water because I think they might be easier for the fish to see. I also have noticed that regardless of where I am fishing a size 16 always gets bit.

I always start with a #16 tan and I'll only switch if someone nearby starts catching three to my one on a different size/color. And even then I put more importance on how they are fishing it.

 

There may be something to the pregnant versions (those tyed with an orange or yellow spot), the contrasting highlight could be a good (attention getting) trigger. But I haven't had enough time using them to accept it as fact.

 

[Pujic 0]

Fishinwrench,

 

What technique do you use when fishing scuds?

Thanks,

 

Nick

[Taxon 0]

QUOTE (mrjim @ Jan 2 2005, 10:56 PM)

Does anyone know when they lay eggs and when they shed their shells - is it tied to moon phases, length of days, water temp or ???    Also - when their shell if first shed, the new shell is very light  but is the color that their shells take on tied to the color of the bottom (colors used may be light grey /dark grey /charcoal /olive /brown)?

mrjim-

Unlike insects, scuds spawn repeatedly, up to six times per year. A single pair is said to be capable of producing 20,000 young in a single year. The timing of invertebrate molting is triggered by growth. When the external skeleton is no longer capable of containing the body, a new exoskeleton is formed.

 

With regard to color, a scud's exoskeleton is semi-transparent, so they take on the color of their gut content. In other words, their color is dependent on what they are eating. Hope this answers your questions.

[Guest]

Nick, It depends on the flow. I never drift them under an indicator unless I am forced to fish straight upstream. I feel that indicators cause more problems than they solve when fishing across stream (even at the slightest angle). In slow eddys I'll let it settle and use a slow handtwist retrieve with an elevated rod tip while concentrating on the angle of the line between the rod tip and the point where the line touches the surface, if the line tightens up or doesn't fall back after a twist...then "I gotta bite".

 

If I can get away with it (which is the norm) I prefer to shortline up and across with splitshot just like any other deep nymph. The farther away from my rod tip the fly is the more likely strikes will get missed or undetected. Any more than 15 feet of line past the rod tip and I'll either try to find a way to get closer, or just accept the fact that I will not detect all of the bites.

 

FW

[mrjim 0]

Thanks Taxon for the info. Looks like fishinwrench has a pretty solid plan of attack.

[Guest]

I can't add much to what Wrench just posted. I agree about the float, if you're not on the bottom with a scud you're probably not going to get bit and a float can make it tough. It seems that color can be everything at times, but as said, Tan is a good place to start. You can tie some with Orange thread to get the pregnant effect, but I'm not sure the Trout care unless the visability is down.

On Taney I always keep one eye out for some Midge action.

[uncletube 0]

The depth I fish a scud depends on the time of day more than anything else. In the morning and evening I will fish just the fly . Seems to me that the scuds are more apt to come out of cover and move during these times and I will fish them as deep as possible the rest of the time. The indicator as Wrench has said usaully is more bother than it is worth and we both fish them in fairly close. 15 to 20 feet max. As far as colour I use three main variants light olive, olive- tan, olive-grey and for a mixer I do a pregnant variation which I have posted in the archive. I prefer to fish a size 14 at Taney and on the White, 16 in the parks in Missouri. I also weight them fairly heavy

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