Wooly buggers belly side up

[Shaun thomas 0]

I have been tying wooly buggers etc lately some are great but others swim belly up. What are people's opinions with why some of my flies swim belly up. 

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Something is counteracting the weight of the bend and lower portion of the hook, causing the hook to roll point-up. Perhaps youre using weight(e.g. dumbbell eyes) that is concentrated near the hook eye, or you have exceptionally buoyant material concentrated on the top side of the hook shank?

Having said the above...woolly buggers are tied "in the round", meaning they look the same in the water viewed from any angle. Assuming that by "belly-up" you mean hook point-up,  does it matter if they swim hook-up or hook-down?

[mikechell 0]

Got some pictures of those buggers?  Would help a lot in any diagnosis you receive.

[Shaun thomas 0]

Yes hook point up is what I mean. Personally I would prefer them to swim with hook point down but At the end of the day no I don't think it does matter! I just want to get to the bottom of why as I am new to fly tying thanks. 

[flytire 0]

i'm with bryon, wooly buggers are tied "in the round" so why would it matter if the hook rides up

the bead is most likely bringing the head of the fly down thus riding hook point up. just strip retrieve it

[Shaun thomas 0]

7 minutes ago, flytire said:

i'm with bryon, wooly buggers are tied "in the round" so why would it matter if the hook rides up

the bead is most likely bringing the head of the fly down thus riding hook point up. just strip retrieve it

I just wanted to know why some of my flies swim hook point down and some hook point up. As I am new to fly tying I wasn't sure where I was going wrong. I have the same problem with my buggers and nymphs that have no weight added to the fly. 

[samsonboi 0]

Down eye hooks can also do that. Just don't worry about it. It does not matter.

[The Mad Duck 0]

Is the Bead that you are using a slotted bead?

[mikechell 0]

Welcome to the site!  Welcome to the fun of fly tying and trying for perfection!

The bugger in your picture ... it appears there's a light bend to the hook shank.  It's easy, with light wire, long shank hooks, to put pressure on them while tying and bending the hook a little out of "straight".  Or your using hooks that aren't straight to begin with.  Any small difference in hook shape can make your fly react differently to water dynamics.

As sampsonboi stated, the hook eye can act as a guide.  If the line is pulling "up"then the fly will be "down" resulting in the hook point being up.

Also, iterating above statements ... it's not going to affect your fishing.  Point up or down is not going to affect your hook sets much, if at all.  If that's your reason for wanting the hook point down, it isn't a concern.

[Shaun thomas 0]

10 minutes ago, The Mad Duck said:

Is the Bead that you are using a slotted bead?

No mate it is a countersunk tungsten bead

[Shaun thomas 0]

8 minutes ago, mikechell said:

Welcome to the site!  Welcome to the fun of fly tying and trying for perfection!

The bugger in your picture ... it appears there's a light bend to the hook shank.  It's easy, with light wire, long shank hooks, to put pressure on them while tying and bending the hook a little out of "straight".  Or your using hooks that aren't straight to begin with.  Any small difference in hook shape can make your fly react differently to water dynamics.

As sampsonboi stated, the hook eye can act as a guide.  If the line is pulling "up"then the fly will be "down" resulting in the hook point being up.

Also, iterating above statements ... it's not going to affect your fishing.  Point up or down is not going to affect your hook sets much, if at all.  If that's your reason for wanting the hook point down, it isn't a concern.

Thank you glad I joined very useful information. 

[Mark Knapp 0]

I would take the deal, in fact, I would try to duplicate it. I think that flies with the hook bend up are preferable to bend-down fly patterns for two reasons. You can achieve better hook-ups with the bend-up. And, they are less likely to snag.

[samsonboi 0]

You beat me to it Mark.

[Mark Knapp 0]

1 minute ago, samsonboi said:

You beat me to it Mark.

You gotta be fast to beat me to the punch😁. Don't know how you did it, we get up later than everyone else in America up here in Alaska.

[samsonboi 0]

I like all my weighted flies to ride hook point up. I don't think hook orientation does much at all with unweighted flies ie winged wets, softies, surface nymphs, emergers, dries, etc. that aren't meant to be fished super deep or are meant to be fished on the surface, but it definitely helps prevent snags in beaded or underweighted nymphs and streamers.