• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Deneki Outdoors Fishing Lodges

Alaska | The Bahamas | Chile

  • About Deneki Outdoors
  • Our Fishing Lodges
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
  • Deneki Blog
    • Alaska West
    • Andros South
    • Chile
    • Fish
    • Fishing Reports
    • Fly Tying
    • Gear
    • General
    • Guest Posts
    • News
    • Rapids Camp
    • Rio Salvaje
    • Tips
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs

Oct 28 2014

Stu’s Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube Fly – Tying Instructions

Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube Fly by Stuart Foxall
The Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube in all its glory. Photos: Stuart Foxall.

When we asked you, what you would like to see more of on our blog, many of you suggested we run more step by step fly tying posts. Some of you were a little more specific, requesting tying instructions on some of our favorite sculpin patterns. A few of you even requested information on tying tube flies for species other than salmon and steelhead.

We took the hint.. And today we’re happy to present you with tying intstructions for the Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube, courtesy of world renowned fly tyer, Stuart Foxall. Stu’s Quick-Tie Sculpin has proved itself time and time again on our resident rainbows at Alaska West, and we were pretty excited when he agreed to share the details! Take it away Stu!

Stu’s Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube

For a number of years now, I have been visiting the guys at Alaska West and have had great fun chasing the amazing leopard rainbow trout. The first few years there, I would use larger heavy dumbbell style sculpins for these fish which worked great when “Low Bowing.” But sometimes when fishing the braids in the upper river or sight fishing in side channels, these heavy flies could be difficult to cast in tight spots and could often spook the target. So, I started using lighter type flies that wouldn’t “hinge” when cast or snag up during the swing. Tying them is pretty quick and they definitely look very impressionistic.

Materials

  •  Tube: Plastic liner tube nested in plastic glitter tube.
  • Body/Tag: Mirage Tinsel
  • Dubbing Ball: Red Ice Dub
  • Collar: Olive Arctic Fox
  • Wing: Olive/Black Barred Rabbit Strip
  • Flash: Mirage Flashabou
  • Hackle: Olive Schlappen
  • Shoulders/Fins: Olive Pheasant Rump
  • Cone: Red/Orange Cone Head
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 1: Tie in outer glitter tube to the liner tube. If you cut your outer tube at a slant this helps grip the liner and prevents the tubes from slipping.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 2: Cover back of tube with touching turns of tinsel.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 3: Tie in a dubbing ball to help “prop” the following materials. I have used orangey/red here as it shows like gills from underneath the fly.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 4: Catch in a little fox to form a collar for mobility. I tie mine pointing forward and then fold backwards to give the fly some shoulders.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 5: This trick I learned from Alaska West alum Spencer Dixon. Tie your bunny strip pointing in forwards as shown. This gives the fly a great profile when folded backwards. I also cut a small “V” in the tail of the bunny strip to give the fly a better ‘slinky’ profile.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 6: Once folded backwards, tie a couple of little slips of bunny strip on either side of the wing. As you can see, tying these slips on either side give’s a nice sculpin ‘teardrop’ shape.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 7: Catch in some mirage flashabou on top for a bit of flash.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 8: Tie in and wrap a few turns of schlappen hackle.
Sculpin Tube Fly
Step 9: Tie in some dyed pheasant rump feathers as the prominent sculpin fins.
Quick-Tie Sculpin Tube Fly by Stuart Foxall
Step 10: Attach a cone head for weight. I’ve used a red cone here to look like an egg. What fish doesn’t love an egg sucking sculpin!?
Sculpin Tube Fly
Colors and sizes can be varied. The little black one in the middle can be very good when “flashier” patterns could spook fish that have already been covered a few times. If you want a heavy fly for deeper water, try adding some lead under the dubbing.

More Step by Step Tying Instructions

  • Silver Salmon Popper by Chuck Shepard
  • Shrimptruder Fly Tying Video
  • Stu’s Red Shrimp Intruder Tying Video

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nick says

    October 29, 2014 at 6:23 am

    This is a great looking pattern. Love the versatility. Any chance we could get a post regarding the team’s favorite dry flies for steelhead or perhaps even a step by step of a favorite skater pattern?

  2. Kyle Shea says

    October 30, 2014 at 3:25 pm

    Hey Nick,

    Many thanks for the great request. We’ll get on it and try to put something together soon. Stay tuned!

  3. cbearw says

    December 18, 2014 at 8:06 am

    Stu’s tube flies all look great. I think this sculpin pattern may work well for summer steelhead where a realistic pattern might work better than a flashy fly. Thanks for sharing this one!

  4. Kyle Shea says

    December 21, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    Your most welcome! We couldn’t agree with you more. Stu has told us that he has caught some summers on it as well. Great call! Thanks for stopping by!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Plan Your Trip

Let our experts plan the fishing adventure of your dreams.
Contact Now

Search Topics

Subscribe to our newsletter

All Blog Posts

Recent Posts

  • 6, 2025 Father’s Day Gift Ideas Your Father Will Like
  • 4 Reasons You Should Come Experience the Kanektok River
  • No Better Time To Experience Bristol Bay with Rapids Camp Lodge
  • Fly Tying Tutorial: How To Tie The Hippie Stomper
  • 5 Tips When You’re Buying Your First Spey Rod Setup

All About Spey

All About Trout

All About Bonefishing

All About Gear

Best Posts

Footer

Deneki Outdoors

Mailing address:
200 W. 34th Ave.
#1170
Anchorage, AK 99503

Headquarters:
6160 Carl Brady Dr.
Anchorage, AK 99502

US Information and Reservations
800-344-3628

International Information and Reservations
+1 907-563-9788

Email: info@deneki.com

Our Lodges

Rapids Camp
King Salmon, Alaska

Alaska West
Kanektok River, Alaska

Andros South
South Andros Island, The Bahamas

Rio Salvaje
Puerto Montt, Chile

Deneki Outdoors thanks Peter Viau, Tosh Brown, Abe Blair, Kyle Shea and Kara Knight for the beautiful photography used on our sites.

Connect With Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

#denekioutdoors

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Copyright © 2025 · Deneki Outdoors · Privacy Policy · Site by 21 Designs

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we assume that you are okay with it.Ok