Rabbit Sculpin

Today's fly is an Alaskan classic for Arctic Char, Rainbows and even the odd Pacific Salmon. It imitates the sculpin, a bottom dwelling fish that is common in these waters. It's a simple tie - instead it's all about the right materials and their preparation. Tied on a Fulling Mill Streamer Stripper Size 2 hook, a great salt water and large streamer pattern with straight eye, heavy wire and wide gape, to cope with bulky materials and large fish. The hook should be heavily weighted with lead (free) wire to get down in the water. The tail is tied about twice as long as the hook length using Straight-Cut Tiger-Barred Olive Zonker (strips of rabbit hide cut in the same direction as the body hair). The body is made from Cross-Cut Tip-dyed Olive Zonker that is wound around the hook and then finished with Chartreuse Mirage Tab-eyes. I think it's an elegant and effective pattern that imitates the sculpin well, but you do need a stiff #7 or #8 rod - all that zonker is heavy to cast when wet.