Scuds: The Still Water "Go-To" Fly
Scud- (Scientific Name: Order Amphipoda. Most are family Gammaridae, genus Gammarus; and family Talitridae, genus Hyalella) Are you are one of the many fly anglers that has overlooked the Scud as part of your arsenal of flies? If so, you are missing out. If you are fly fishing in lakes or other still water fisheries, the Scud might be the only fly you need in your fly box.
Scuds are often known and referred to by many anglers as "freshwater shrimp" because of many similarities in their appearance; although a distant cousin of the shrimp, they are not shrimp at all. Scuds are freshwater crustaceans that make-up over 20% of a trout's diet, and these tasty trout treats are available almost all year long in most lakes and slack waters of Western North America. As many as 10,000 scuds can be found in one square yard in many lakes. So being highly abundant and available all year, it's no wonder why they make-up such a large portion of a trout's diet.
Scuds live beneath the surface for their entire lives, they do not pupate or emerge like an insect. They have a hard exoskeleton body with several segments and seven legs. Scuds have a pair of antenna that extend about half the length of their body. They breath through gills which are located semi-laterally between each set of legs. Scuds are commonly cream to tan in color but can be brown or olive depending on type, location and season.
Scuds sometimes swim sideways and in short bursts of 6 to 12 inches at a time, followed by a short pause. By making short strips with your fly line, or by using the "figure-eight retrieve" can be an excellent way to imitate a scud's swim pattern. Scuds are sensitive to light, this makes using a scud pattern a deadly choice on overcast days or early and late in the day when they are most active throughout the water column. Use an intermediate or full sinking line when fishing a scud pattern in a lake or slack water. In a stream you can swim them or dead drift them with floating line. Try out a few scud patterns next time you are still water or slack water fishing for trout; and don't be surprised if you hook into a lunker.

Erie Steelhead fishing.

Erie Steelhead fishing.