Sculpin Helmet Bunny Carp Fly

As you may remember I took a trip to Lake MI with Miles (aka I-spot-Em-I-Got-em.com) and Ty (aka Carp Aficionado) earlier this summer.  It was a great trip and we caught quite a few very very large carp.  The main two flies that we used were heavily weighted olive Jaime's Krazy Carpers and this small olive Sculpin Head Bunny fly.

The Sculpin Helmet Bunny (or SH Bunny) caught several very large carp in this trip but the one that stands out is this 34.5lb carp which was my new personal best by over 10lbs!

Now, this fly uses the "small" FlyMen fishing company sculpin heads.  While they have a new size head "micro" that is a little more generally applicable, (see the SH McLuvin) these "small" sized heads result in a fly that would typically be much too heavy for carp in many parts of the country.  On the great lakes however, you can expect to be fishing at range on big flats to slowly cruising carp in seek and destroy mode.  That is what you are hoping for at any rate!

In that kind of scenario a heavy fly can often be very helpfull because once you spot a carp you usually don't have allot of time to make a cast and get the fly down close to the bottom. Additionally these fish are often aggresively on the prowl for meat and meat is what this fly represents.

Now, notice that this fly is NOT 3 or 4" or even 6" long.

When we where there really massive flies were not necessary or even helpful and the carp were not interested in expending too much energy chasing them down.  The gobies we were seeing on the flats (one of the primary carp forages on the Great Lakes) were small, olive and rather helpless.  As a result we caught one carp on a fly longer than 3", but everything else was on 1.5 to 2" long flies presented on a slow strip or twitch and even on a dead drop once or twice!

So, if you are going to Lake MI you might want to take a few of these.  As a matter of fact, I strongly suspect that this fly in a couple of different colors and lengths might be all you need much of the time!

TYING VIDEO:

RECIPE:

• Hook: Tiemco 760SP (Special Point) Size 4
• Thread: Whatever - Thread is hidden.
• Tail: Hareline Black Barred rabbit strips - Olive Variant
• Body: Black Barred rabbit furr applied in a dubbing loop.
• Head: Fishmen Fly Co Olive Sculpin Helmet, "small"

NOTE:  Notice how I did not label this fly "McTage's".  That would be silly.  Mostly because this is the first basic fly virtually everybody thinks of when they see these sculpin heads the first time.  Heck, it is even on the sculpin helmet package!