Don's sculpin

Tim Murphy wrote:
FWIW, I can tie a pretty good sculpin with nothing but marabou, lead wire, deer hair and pheasant breast feathers. You need good marabou and lot's of lead wire.
Click to expand...

A guy I know who used to work at Nestor's in Whitehall and Quakertown tied a really nice marabou sculpin with just grizzly marabou and some flank feathers I THINK. Dumb me, I bought up all the marabou the shop had but never asked him for a fly...

...maybe he didn't want to give up the recipe ;-).

He did offer me his mother's ravioli recipe but I declined because mama used inferior flour to make her pasta.

Despite having a few store bought "Don's Sculpins", a few I tied myself as well as 2000 yards of the requisite chenille; I still swear by the Shenk Sculpin as do the few hogs I dredged up with them at the Letort and Falling Springs.

:-D
 
OK. My inquisitive nature is once again gonna get me in trouble. I'm willing to give up the phone number of my 300 pound coonskinning spandex wearing neighborlady to the first kind soul that supplies me with a pack of that secret material. :lol: :) :-D :-o
 
I too am sick of the privacy surrounding various fly patterns. I also agree that the people at the LL fly shop are the most unfriendly people I have ever met in all my years of fly fishing. I personally refuse to deal with them. As far as Don's sculpin is concerned, if an individual has to protect his livelihood by keeping secret the fly patterns he has created, then his livlihood must be very meager to start with. As far as the chenille used in the pattern, you can buy a whole skein of it for $5 at Michaels craft store. The LL fly shop probably sells it for $2 for 3 yards, or something like that. As far as the pattern is concerned, go to the site www.flyfisherparadise.com. Then go to the FFP section. There you will find the recipe and also a photograph! So much for keeping the info off of the internet. Part of the joy of fly fishing lies in the sharing of info, be it fly patterns or techniques. Like I said before, the opposite approach is pretty lame,. Just my two cents. Any comments?

Bill-r
 
Festus ; Material on the way. Notify neighbor lady I'am on my way.
loum
 
RE: “Sandfly; You stole my sculpin pattern and posted it.
And
“A guy I know who used to work at Nestor's in Whitehall and Quakertown tied a really nice marabou sculpin with just grizzly marabou and some flank feathers I THINK.”

Note that the guys tying these patterns: Lou, Sandfly, the guy at Nestors, are all from the same area of PA that Don lived for many years, developing patterns, doing demos at TU chapters etc. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
 
>Any comments?>

Yes. I'd like to comment on the following:

"As far as Don's sculpin is concerned, if an individual has to protect his livelihood by keeping secret the fly patterns he has created, then his livlihood must be very meager to start with."

My comment:

Don't you worry about stuff falling into your nostrils when you point your nose up like that?

I'm sorry if this seems abrupt, but felt your comment above was tacky and frankly, uncalled for.

Thanks..
 
RLeeP--the comment wasn't intended to ruffle anyones feathers--if you read my entire post, it was pointed out that one of the pleasures of fly fishing is to share with fellow anglers different patterns and techniques. I have learned much over the years, and I hope I have been able to share with others adhering to this philosophy. Maybe the comment was a bit harsh, and in the future maybe tone them down a bit. It is still an annoyance to me where a person has info and does not wish to share it with fellow flyfishers. I have met Don Douple, he is a good guy, and I have seen him tie the sculpin. He ansewered any questions asked while he was tying, and I find it hard to believe he actually wanted to keep the fly pattern off the internet. At no time did I get the impression he was trying to keep either the pattern or tying technique secret. I guess my comment was taken out of context, and maybe it actually had no place in the discussion. Again, sorry if I ruffled anyones feathers.

Bill-R
 
Dear Mr. Murphy:

I respect your opinion on fly fishing. In fact, I enjoy reading you’re posts on many subjects. With that being said, I caution everyone on the board to use your best judgment when reading information posted by ANY individual. Always carefully consider the source of any information, even if it’s from the newspaper, magazines, television, etc.

IMHO, I would never take the advice of someone named Tim MURPHY for my lasagna recipe! If I told my grandmother that I put someting in my lasagna called "scamutz", I be disowned from the family. No offense Tim.....but stick to fly fishing.

Signed
Tom CIANNILLI
 
Afishinado, you took the words out of my mouth! He probably puts potatoes in them.
 
Concerning the LL Fly Shop, I hate to pile on but maybe if they see enough of these criticisms they might take them to heart. Maybe not. But anyway, the first time I went into the shop, with no preconceived notions because I hadn't read or heard any criticisms at that point, I also had a feeling that I had intruded upon an exclusive club or something. I've never gone back, because I never have really needed to, but also because it just didn't seem like a friendly place. Since then I have heard and read enough of the same opinions to know that it wasn't just me. In one odd example, I know of a guy who saw a fisherman having a lot of success a little upstream of the shop, using a particular fly. When he went to the shop and tried to buy the fly, they wouldn't sell it to him. When they were told that someone was having a lot of success with one, they said something along the lines of "Yeah, we know that guy." It wasn't a particularly unique fly, it may have even been something like a green weenie. I don't know if they thought it wasn't worthy to be fished in their stream, if they didn't like people having that much success, or what.
 
My mother lives just a couple of miles from the shop. Because I live 5 hours away, I only get there 2 maybe 3 times a year. You'd think those who they've never seen before are the type to get the cold shoulder. But I have always felt welcome and always have had my invitations for conversation indulged. I'm not sure what some people expect from fly shops but I have rarely ever been treated badly in any fly shop, anywhere. And I don't walk around wearing expensive attire or carry high end equipment. So I'm not sure exactly what not feeling welcome involves. What would like to happen when you walk into a shop?
 
Dear Tom,

"Scamutz" is how the Italians from Hazleton pronounce "scamorza" cheese which is an imported mozzaralla style cheese. It's not something I made up, it is something I was told by a friend whose family has owned an restaurant in Hazleton for many years.

Scamorza Cheese

The scamorza cheese is a typical italian cheese. It's a very firm, slightly salty mozzarella like cheese. Packaging of scamorza cheese: Scamorza cheese tied in pair or individually sold. Scamorza - ingredients: Pasteurized cow's milk, milk-rennet, salt, dairy ferments. They can be singularly vacuum packed if requested by the customer. Scamorza cheese formats:250 grams or 350 grams. Scamorze, which contains about 44 percent milk fat, has a creamy white color and a mild, nutty flavor. It's sold in small ovals or gourd shapes and can be smoked. Scamorza cheese is chewier than mozzarella and not as moist. Scamorze can be used in much the same way as mozzarella generally as a table cheese or in cooking.

I would never willing give anyone bad food advice, you can definitely trust me on that. :-D

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
afishinado wrote:

IMHO, I would never take the advice of someone named Tim MURPHY for my lasagna recipe! If I told my grandmother that I put someting in my lasagna called "scamutz", I be disowned from the family. No offense Tim.....but stick to fly fishing.

Signed
Tom CIANNILLI
Click to expand...

It's a homemade Italian cheese used sometimes in place of Mozzarella. and, while it is often pronounced skuh-MOATS, it is spelled scamorse.

Perhaps mr ciannilli and mr murphy live in different parts of the state. Perhaps if your gramma had shared her recipe with you you'd know this.
 
You beat me to it Tim...while we don't always agree on fishing topics, you can always count on me to have your back when it comes to food!
 
RE: "I have met Don Douple, he is a good guy, and I have seen him tie the sculpin. He ansewered any questions asked while he was tying..."

There you go. That sounds like Don to me. He's shared tons of info on flies, tackle, fishing techniques, wild trout, aquatic insects, flyfishing history, stream conservation and restoration etc. with flyfishers in this person-to-person way for years.

If he wants to put together and sell a kit, with materials and tying instructions for that fly, that's his choice.

Some of you may remember Paul Berger's Honey Bug kits, with tying instructions. Honey Bugs are basically just chenille wrapped around a hook, but you were supposed to tie them in a very specific way, so that the threads hung out the back for more action. Once in a while I hear people talking about these kits, always with a big grin on their face. Why? Just because they were unique, a little part of PA flyfishing history.
 
tomgamber wrote:
So I'm not sure exactly what not feeling welcome involves. What would like to happen when you walk into a shop?
Click to expand...

Kill a fatted calf? Strew flowers at my feet? Kowtow 3 times, beating their forehead against the floor?

Little touches like that make a big difference in retail.
 
anyone been to the LL recently?
 
Okay Tim...but the real question is does the scamutz get mixed in before the potatoes or after the cabbage?
 
troutbert; In response to your post. Sandfly and I are fishing buddies long before he moved to Tioga. We are constantly busting on each other. As far as the guy from nestors,who I do not know, or any one else for that matter being in some kind of conspiracy to keep fly patterns a secret is a figment of your imanigation.
 
I know Don too, its the not letting it on line thing is wrong in my book....besides I wouldn't buy anything that rust the next day because its being sold in a spring house...seen it happen from there...

Any one need Honey bug material ???
 
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