Anyone use Skunks?

[fish_4_all]

My uncle fly fishes some and he loves to use green and pink butt skunks. I am thinking of tying some up on jig heads. Black head with a normal white eye and maybe a red/black/purple pupil, purple or black body with a pink or chartreuse butt. Maybe tie in some hackle or marabou for a kind of beard or razor back look.

Might look something like these:


Does anyone think they might work for Summers as well fall steelhead and salmon if they were tied in a jig head?

Anyone have any color suggestions?

 

[fish_4_all]

Someone has to use them? My biggest summer was on an egg sucking leech and it looked a lot like these. Only the red was at the head and not the butt.

If you were to put them in jig heads how would you do it? Just a tail and a chenille short body for the color?

 

[1aB]

Pardon my ignorance of flies, but why are they called "skunks"? What did your uncle catch with this pattern? IMO the fluff action front & back with the bright attractor color mid body could get some serious attention. Lots jig makers using bead bodies, but the chenille(?) color appears to be even brighter. I like how your tail isn't trimmed square and retains the natural taper of the fibers.

 

[fish_4_all]

I don't know why they call them skunk butts. They are a gotto fly here for salmon and steelhead. I thought putting them on a jig head would work too. My uncle uses them primarily for summers and has good success with them.

Body and butt are chenille, the hair is hackle.

 

[mlw]

fish_4_all-

Among NW fly fishers for steelhead, the skunk, green butted and otherwise, is about the most famous, and most fish catching, steelhead fly ever. If you are an Oregon fly person, you know that it was invented on the north Umpqua about 60 years ago, by Clarence Gordon. (some confused folks in Washington think it was invented up there).

They usually have a black and white wing of bucktail, which is where the "skunk" comes from.

I'll bet a jig head version of your uncles version of a skunk (or any version), would work.

Michael

 

[mlw]

Just noticed your from Washington - sorry about the the "washington" remark.
Michael

 

[FishFinger]

The only skunks i have tied or used are as mlw mentioned. Great idea to change up the pattern. Innovations are a fantastic way to break the paradigms.

 

[fish_4_all]

I knew where they were "introduced" believe it or not. No one uses them locally but then again, no one really fly fishes for anything here.

As for the conventional skunk butt, I have never had any luck with it under a float so I made up these. They work better catching fish here although everyone else caught fish with my fly/jig.

We will just have to see if it works on a jig head fish under a float or lifted off the bottom. That is if we get a season up here. Haven't seen the regs yet so don't know.

But I did not know that was how they got their name. I figured someone used a skunk to tie the first one up. There are a few more skunk down there too.:think:

 

[1aB]

An outside the box variant could indeed produce if traditionals are getting skunked. The butt fluff looks ideal for enhancing a drab jig with a color splash, and the full hackle collar looks like additional attraction action.

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

I would drift fish those in a jig form... Those exact bugs, but with a lead head, as opposed to dumbell eyes. Unless you couldget some small dumbells, in the neighborhood of 1/16-1/8 of an ounce. Maybe Tungsten eyes would work too. But they look fishy enough. I don't run floats, but I bet they would drift fish well.

 

[1aB]

I agree, a very promising moving water jig pattern. No float, the fluff would allow twitch action and slow sink depth control. The subdued colors and different profile an alternative to pink Palmered pompoms.

 

[fish_4_all]

The dumb bell is 1/8, I couldn't find anything heavier when I made them. I have some really small ones, I think 1/32 or there abouts.

I am gonna make some up on jig heads this week I hope. Gonna do a purple head because I don't have black yet.

Anyone think I should put eyes on them? I see a lot of fish caught on dumb bells so I think a white eye might be the trick to give it the same look.

The hardest part is gonna be putting the hackle on and not a big collar behind the jig head. I think I can tie in the hackle first but will have to experiment with it to see what works and gives the same look. It is palmered and them pulled together to form a top and bottom of fluff.

Any color recommendations?

 

[ArcticAmoeba]

Yes, to 1/8 dumbell eyes. Colors...Red, Pink, Blue, Green, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Browns, Tans, any of the Naturals. Flashabou too.

 

[tnffishman]

my dad uses green skunk to tie flies for silvers, they usually work pretty good

 

[fish_4_all]

I think adding a white streak on the point side of a jig would be a killer coho jig. The fly I use up here has a white bucktail strip and is simply deadly so it should be the same effect on a jig.

I like input like this, gets me thinking further outside the box than my mind already is, if that is possible. :lol: