wooly bugger or muddler minnow

[Sjo Crapels 0]

All sorts and sizes of Muddlers.

Sjo

[uffepuffe 0]

I would prefer Muddler in the rivers of sweden. Mostly because it produces the cooler takes from the trout but also because in my experience it can lure trout even on the slowest of days and my experience is that te bugger won't.

[screener 0]

dark marabou brown muddler dead drifted accounts for 99 percent of all my big browns

[smallieFanatic 0]

Generally I start off the season with some beadhead nymphs, but I do toss wooly buggers quite a bit in the early season. Muddlers I wait until its warmer to use them.

 

Jan

[Rp3flyfisher 0]

My fav in early season would be the Slough Bug or Sparkle Bugger.

 

Rick

[shezli 0]

Hey I picked a wooly bugger but I think that a muddler is a great pattern too. I'd pick a wooly bugger to drag around while waiting for a hatch for sure.

My favorite pattern would have to be a grey wolf size 8-10.

Cool thread

 

S

[flytyinfreak 0]

I tie a nice olive n orange bugger with a nice micro zonker head. I have been fishing that pattern hard and confidently the last few years and so far so good! I have found that the earlier in the day the better. I don't know why but as soon as the sun rises enough to safely wad the river I fish until about 10;100 and then it's all about big BWO's and caddis pupa's.

[BigDaddyHub 0]

streamer, nymph, whatever....its hard to beat a bugger

[smokinprice 0]

streamer, nymph, whatever....its hard to beat a bugger

 

Yeah yeah...personally I love a nymph for early season. A BH does wonders.

[searsportshuffle 0]

Some of the biggest trout I have caught and watched others catch have been on muddlers. May catch more on wooly buggers but the big boys really like a muddler

[Old Hat 0]

Hands down ....muddler. Might catch a few more fish with the bugger but if you want to target the big boys that are fattening up after a long winter gotta chose the muddler. And you smallmouth fishers...if you not using a muddler this Spring...shame on you!

[BEETLE BOB 0]

I agree w/ Old Hat, I have caught 10x's as many trout w/muddlers,they especially have a hard time resisting mini-muddlers w/ wood duck flank feathers as a wing worked deep and slow w/ the occasional twitch. Having said all that , I now catch bigger fish on a pearl/gold Coffee Sparkle Minnow.Everything from small stream trout and lake-run browns to walleyes and crappies.

[Zee_German 0]

First post. I creeped this site a bit in the past but when I saw this poll I finally decided to register. Here in Nova Scotia, I'm pretty sure that if you asked any serious fly angler this question, they'd choose the muddler hands down. Personally, I've caught more trout on a good ol' gold turkey wing/squirrel tail muddler than on any other fly. For speckles (our native trout species) there is simply no better fly. Also, I've caught my record trout (27 inch brown) on a black conehead zonker muddler. If I had to choose only one fly to carry, it'd be a regular old muddler minnow, and there's not even a close second to that.

[Johny Utah 0]

I picked neither, because i use big stone flies. Especially my Golden Oldie. But if i had to choose for early season trout, i would pick a muddler.

[troutguy 0]

Sorry to be controversial. I think a wooly bugger is the epitome of how we have dumbed down fly tying and fishing. I voted Muddler. I would never be caught dead fishing one of the sanitized neatly trimmed weird muddlers they sell now in most fly shops mind you. Muddlers can represent many things, but when you want big trout they are usually representing sculpin and other flat headed chubs and minnows. I have caught a lot of huge browns on Muddlers. I like them big size 2, 4 or 6 and weighed.