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eastern fly

The Bugger

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It's our first tye. Everyone has done it. The Wooly Bugger. I wonder how many different variations have come from this one fly. I fish with my spinning rod at time and use a curly tail worm and it works more that not. I have wanted to imitate that lure and my thoughts come to the bugger.

 

What are your variations?

 

Kevin

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Color variations, of course. Have also laid a tinsel or copper wire rib on the body, and used a palmered hackle on the body with a soft hackle collar. All have worked just fine. The wooly bugger is the first fly I teach Boy Scouts cuz they can run out and catch fish with it.

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Kevin, I have used the little spinner blades on them and they work great if I work it down stream. I tie in tinsel on each side at the back of the body and then pull it forward and tie down, then palmer the hackle over the tinsel and then reinforce with a wire rib. I have used the little worm-like things from a wash mitt for a tail and the stocked rainbows seem to like them.

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Since you and I dont fish the same waters i guess I will give you my recipe. Lol. I have a version that is tried and true, its way different than the 1 most folks tie but it works for me and thats all i really care about, ive landed several 18+ inch trout with with my biggest being 24 in.

 

Joes Bugger

Hook- Streamer hook 3x long

Bead- gold conehead

Lead weight

Tail- olive Marabou

Flash- root beer krystal flash

Rib- copper wire

Body- olive cactus chenille

Hackle- olive saddle hackle

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Kevin, great question! There's a book written about it! smile.png

 

Besides some various color combinations, I like to use Estaz or Hackle Flash into the bodies to add some extra flash. Also like tails of other materials besides marabou, even though I tie many with marabou too. Particularly like ostrich herl or fox fur for tails. Almost always put some flash in the tails as well.

 

Then, there's the many forms of weight that can be added. Bead heads, cones, wire in the bodies, etc. etc, etc. If you only tie a bugger in black or olive, there's so many different combinations that can be obtained in just these two colors alone!

 

One small thing I do on most is when wrapping the body hackle, since I'm often using strung saddle is add some of the fluff at the base of the hackle as a collar. IMO, it gives a more defined profile & adds some extra movement on the front end of the fly. Not a big deal, but I like it! biggrin.png

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He's a few I had pictures if in my phone, I use a grizzly marabou, and a dubbed body with a dubbing mix I blend so I'm able to get lots of different colors and flash in there. That and the whitings bugger pack hackle is what I think make mine different

post-45335-0-52978300-1403968854_thumb.jpg

post-45335-0-47435200-1403968941_thumb.jpg

post-45335-0-76857800-1403969032_thumb.jpg

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He's a few I had pictures if in my phone, I use a grizzly marabou, and a dubbed body with a dubbing mix I blend so I'm able to get lots of different colors and flash in there. That and the whitings bugger pack hackle is what I think make mine different

Those are very nice indeed! I assume the last one has a streamer hook? I really like that design...

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Since I started tying on my own, no direction, no "mentoring" ... nothing but the black and white xerox'd copy of a booklet ... I have actually never tied a Woolly Bugger.

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Since I started tying on my own, no direction, no "mentoring" ... nothing but the black and white xerox'd copy of a booklet ... I have actually never tied a Woolly Bugger.

No surprise there Mike. You always do things backwards or contrary. :)

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Mike, you gotta start tying some buggers because the bass and the pan fish will knock each other out of the way to get to them. When I chimed in before I just mentioned a few variations but I have tried a lot of different ways and most of them are real fish getters. I have used Pseudo hackle, leech yarn, a lot of different chenilles, dubbing loops with long fibered materials, rubber legs, rubber leg materials for tails, peacock or ostrich for tails, zonker strip for tail and then pull over the back of the hackled body, a strip of Thin Skin or Scud Back pulled over the back after hackle and then rib with wire, but the one that I use most is just a plain, no flash, olive bead head.

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Thank you very much add. Yeh, I used a streamer hook as the back of the fly and cut off the bend afterwards, the front hook is a TMC 2499spbl sz. 8 I believe.

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I like to use estaz or cactus chenille in the body and also like various furs for the tail, especially fox. I have also messed around with combed out dubbing for the bodies. The variations are endless

 

post-18514-0-02450900-1404047617_thumb.jpg

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I have never used a bugger much thought I have tied some and had them in my fly box. I have been working smallmouth all season with no success. I finally caught it on a slightly weighted bugger the other day. Black boo tail, peacock dubbed body, and grisly hackle. I will probably start using them more.

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Maybe we need to do a swap. I know there just a basic fly but we can see the different ways to do them. Any thoughts? If so I think the member count needs to be 15-24 because there so easy.

 

Kevin

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