Fly Focus: Squück

I have been doing a lot of tying with squirrel fur lately. I just love its spikiness and the way it makes the fly look alive. I have been using it on the thorax of caddis pupae, on mayfly emergers, on scuds, and several other subsurface flies. A couple of weeks ago I devised a new nymph using squirrel fur, and it really worked well on the trouts that we caught on our latest Trout Trip.

Squück

Like a lot of my favorite nymphs, I put a CDC collar hackle on my latest squirrel nymph invention. I love the way CDC looks under water, trapping little air bubbles amongst its barbules. Fish seem to like them too, as my CDC enhanced nymphs often work way better than their non-CDC counterparts.

As I was catching trout after trout this past weekend, I decided I better come up with a name for my newest fly. But how should I convey the fact that the fly is part squirrel fur and part duck feather through its name? Should I call it the Fluffy Quacker? Rocket J. Duck? The Web-Footed Rodent? No, of course not! I would just take the "Squ" off of squirrel and add it to the "uck" off of duck! And voila! the Squück was born. I added the umlaüt just because it looks rad...

My friend, Bryon, who I went with on my latest Trout Trip, thought I should spell it "squck", with only one "u". I think we can all agree that looks lust plain silly. Sorry Bryon!

Nice brown caught on a size 14 Squück

The Squück joins my other favorite CDC-enhanced flies such as the CDC-Enhanced Hare's Ear, the CDC-enhanced Prince Nymph, and the Spearfish Special. All of these flies slay, and I wouldn't be caught dead on a trout stream without them.

Let's learn how to tie the Squück, shall we?

Squück Pattern Recipe

Hook: Daiichi 1560 or other 1X-long nymph hook, size 12-18
Bead: Black brass, sized to the hook
Thread: Brown 8/0
Tail: 6-12 Pheasant tail fibers
Rib: Black wire, size Brassie
Abdomen: Natural fox squirrel fur
Hackle: Natural dun CDC feather
Thorax: Natural fox squirrel fur