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Chuck McFarlane

Articulated Bugger First Tying post

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Pretty slow out on the water today. Had one chance all day on a nice smallmouth that took my bugger short and left me wishing I had tied the tail in shorter or I had a trailing stinger hook. Saw some articulated buggers somewhere and decided to sit down on the bench and come up with something that incorporated colors and materials that worked in my waters and also something I could throw into the nastiest snag strewn places. Fianally, I wanted a tried and trusted pattern I was confident I could tie.

 

Hooks; TMC 5263 #4 x2

Tail; Marabou Burnt Orange

Flash; Crystal Flash Rainbow

Body; Dubbing Blend; Rabbit Burnt Orange, Angora Goat Brown, Melty Yarn Black, Ice Dub Brown Olive

Hackle; Spey Hackle; Grizzly Dyed Orange

Rib; 3x mono tippet

Legs; round rubber medium orange barred

Eyes; Black bead chain medium

Intruder wire

3mm. glass beads x 3

Weed guards; Hard Mono

 

P6150017_zpswetpsibr.jpg

 

P6150016_zpsibymriib.jpg

 

P6150022_zpsgabkvrio.jpg

 

This should give the smallies quite a mouth full!!

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nice looking fly. Smallies will eat that one up for sure. articulates take up a fair bit of space in my box for obvious reasons.

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Thanks so much for the comments all. I'll be fishing it, and a couple of it's friends on Friday. The only issue I'm concerned about is fouling the back hook on the front. There's a lot going on back there with the second weed guard. Seems to be okay on the tying bench but I won't know for sure till I cast it.

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Nice fly, smallies will go for that, you might even hook up with some other fish as well. I might adapt that for pike, thanks for the idea, good luck with your fly.

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You go my attention. I'll take a couple.

 

Kevin

Thanks Kevin. Fun fly to tie and fish. No success yet with this pattern as the rain has been relentless this year. Rivers are just coming back into shape so looks like good conditions in the near future. Been playing around with some other articulated patterns for mid water/under the surface using feathers from various sources. Results have been quite pleasing.

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The only issue I'm concerned about is fouling the back hook on the front. There's a lot going on back there with the second weed guard. Seems to be okay on the tying bench but I won't know for sure till I cast it.

 

A lot of articulated streamers utilize a fairly large hook for the front and a smaller/shorter-shanked hook for the rear portion, for this reason. Another possible solution is to cutt the point off of the rear hook. I do this b/c I don't necessarily want the fly to have two hooks (in fact I'd prefer it not to), I just want a larger overall fly with that seductive wiggle that articulation provides.

Still another solution is to use the articulated fly bodies that are available now--the company that makes "Fish Skulls" (Flymen, I think it's called) makes them, but there are other manufacturers as well. That way there's no hook bend for the rear part of the fly to foul on.

Just my $0.02.

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The only issue I'm concerned about is fouling the back hook on the front. There's a lot going on back there with the second weed guard. Seems to be okay on the tying bench but I won't know for sure till I cast it.

 

A lot of articulated streamers utilize a fairly large hook for the front and a smaller/shorter-shanked hook for the rear portion, for this reason. Another possible solution is to cutt the point off of the rear hook. I do this b/c I don't necessarily want the fly to have two hooks (in fact I'd prefer it not to), I just want a larger overall fly with that seductive wiggle that articulation provides.

Still another solution is to use the articulated fly bodies that are available now--the company that makes "Fish Skulls" (Flymen, I think it's called) makes them, but there are other manufacturers as well. That way there's no hook bend for the rear part of the fly to foul on.

Just my $0.02.

 

Cheers for the suggestions Bryon. Lots of good ideas to incorporate into the pattern. I think I may have seen those articulated bodies in my local fly shop. Kinda look like metal hairpins in different lengths? I've yet to try those.

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