Mouthful of Mufasa...what a beautiful site! Since Martin gave me the prototype skulls to work with at Somerset I have been working with the Flymen Fishing Co Fish Skulls to come up with a pattern I can effectively streamer fish, and the Mufasa has been my most sucesssful articulated pattern with the Skull to date. Fished with quick jerk strips on a sinking line this fly has a great vertical action to it that really gets the fish going. 
Hook1: Gamagatsu B10S, size 1
Hook2: Gamagatsu SP11, size 1
Tail/top: Barred Marabou
Body1: Schlappen, tan and yellow
Body2: Ice Dub, copper
Legs: Barred Rubber
Head1: Senyo Laser Dub, dark tan and rusty brown
Head2: Fish Skull, large Coppertone
Weight: .035 lead
Eyes: 3D Epoxy, Super Pearl 1/4"
Epoxy: Clear Cure Goo, thick
Connect: Beadalon, 19 strand .018" with three size E beads
STEP 1: With your Gamagatsu SP11 size 1 in the vise get your thread started and wrapped to the back of the hook shank. Once at the rear tie in point, located above the midpoint of the hook spear, tie a single barred marabou feather hanging approximately one hook length off the back of the hook. Tightly wrap the material forward up the hook shank then return your thread to the rear tie in point. 
STEP 2: Select both a tan and and a yellow schlappen feather to be tied in as the body. Grasp the feathers by their tip and stroke the fibers back so you can tie in the feathers by just the stem. The feathers should be tied in on top of each other at the rear tie in point, and with the concave side facing down.
STEP 3: Using a good amount of Ice Dub, to provide a bulky underbody, dub forward to about one eye width back on the hook. Having a properly dubbed underbody will allow the feather stems to sink down in the next step, and so protect them from teeth. 
STEP 4: Taking the two schlappen feathers together, fold them and palmer the forward. Be careful as you wrap forward not to trap fibers down to the body. 
STEP 5: Just behind the eyes tie in three barred rubber legs by their mid-point, so that three legs extend back down each side of the hook shank. Clip them relatively evenly so they extend about to the bend of the hook. Then tie in another barred marabou feather extending about halfway back on the tail, so as to form a nice taper. 
STEP 6: With your Gamagatsu B10S size 1 hook in the vise use a 3" piece of 19 strand .018" Beadalon to attach the back hook. Make sure that the back hook is inverted, so the hook at this stage is pointing up. You will string on three size E beads to help keep the wire gap closed, resulting in less fouling of materials. 
STEP 7: With the two hooks securely attached you will add a little additional weight. This weight will give the fly a little more vertical motion on retrieve and ensure that the fly rides correctly, with the front hook up. You will attach two pieces of .035 lead side by side on top of the front hook shank. They should cover about two thirds of the shank but not too close to the front where the head will be added. 
STEP 8: As in step two, select both a tan and and a yellow schlappen feather to be tied in as the body. Grasp the feathers by their tip and stroke the fibers back so you can tie in the feathers by just the stem. The feathers should be tied in on top of each other at the rear tie in point, and with the concave side facing down. 
STEP 9: Same as steps three and four you will now dub the underbody of Ice Dub and palmer the two feathers forward. This should reach about two thirds forward on the hook shank. 
STEP 10: Again, tie in three rubber legs by the midpoint resulting in three legs down each side. Trim them about where they reach the eye of the rear hook. 
STEP 11: Invert the vise and tie in a topping of Barred Marabou extending back to about the midpoint of the rear hook. 
STEP 12: Pull a clump of dark tan Senyo Laser Dub from the bag then pull and stack the material so that all the fibers are in the same direction. Tie in that clump on top of the hook shank by it's mid-point and then repeat with a clump on the bottom of the hook shank. It will take doing it a few times to get the amount correct; what you are aiming for is as much as you can add and still comfortably slide the Fish Skull over it. 
STEP 13: To add the appearance of gills tie in a small pinch of Rusty Brown Senyo Laser Dub on each side. 
STEP 14: To assist with this step I tile the front hook up a bit in the vise. Make sure the 'heavy' side of the Fish Skull on the opposite side of the shank from the hook point so it will ride correctly, then slide the large Fish Skull directly over the eye of the hook, reversing the materials and forcing it backwards, until the eye of the hook comes through the slot. Secure the skull in place by squirting some Clear Cure Goo thick through the slot and on either side of the eye, then hit it with the light to cure it and the Fish Skull is going nowhere. 
STEP 15: The final step is to add eyes. I personally do not use the eyes that come with the Skulls, instead opting for 1/4" 3D Epoxy Super Pearl eyes. Just a little dab of Loctite Gel and hold them in place until it heats up. 
I have mostly used this pattern in the tan and olive variations as the heads I got when they first came out were these two colors. With seven colors of head this pattern can be altered to suit your local forage. I can say that recently I have done well fishing a variation with the black head, black marabou, black and blue schlappen.... If you have any questions about the pattern that were not addressed, please visit http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/ or find me at the Anglers Choice Flies News Feed at http://www.anglerschoiceflies.blogspot.com/.
-mike schmidt
www.anglerschoiceflies.com
www.anglerschoiceflies.com
