wooly bugger or muddler minnow

[iso18 0]

I voted bugger on this,though i rarely use them anymore.But,when I did, I never had near the luck with the muddler like I did on a bugger. I think it's all about the marabou,movement,pulsating,brathing looking tasty to the fish!

cheers,

shane

[troutguy 0]

Did anyone see Summer 2011 issue of Fly Tyer? read the article on Imitations Should Imitate - Naturally. (they use color in title for effect)

 

Quote from the article"...staggering variety of Woolly Buggers and similar designs of various colors, all of which offer little challenge in fly tying."

[flytyer166 0]

well i havent really had any luck on a muddler so deffinately wooly bugger

[Druce 0]

I would have to say wooly bugger, i use a wooly bugger with natural grizzley marabou, grizzley dubbing and grizzley hackle and bead chain eyes and it kills any fish in my home town rivers hands down! its the gray fred from global fly fisher, best fly iv ever used to date.

[Will K 0]

Bugger for sure for me. my bugger varient with dumbbell eyes and rubber legs to be precise, but really either will happily be on the end of my line.

 

Close behind would be a slump buster. Nasty fly that one!

 

The funny thing to me is how some folks look down on those of us "willing" to throw buggers...

[birdman6 0]

I use buggers a lot on the local river and catch a few brownies..

[Christopher K 0]

Bow river bugger

[Tailing looper 0]

I had probably my most successful opening day outing throwing a cone head white marabou muddler a few years ago. Up until then, I never cared much for them. It sure is hard to beat a wooly bugger, though. Tough choice.

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[redietz 0]

Although I've caught plenty of other species on a wooly bugger, in 50 years I've never caught a trout on one. I have, however, caught lots of trout on muddlers, so I've got to say muddlers. Nothing against w.b.s; I carry some, but never think to tie one on when I'm fishing from trout.

[noahflyfisher 0]

From my knowledge, the muddler minnow imitates a slender bait fish while the wooly bugger can be mostly anything if they aren't biting the bugger then go to the minnow. Right?

[Dave G. 0]

Well here early season means ponds and sinking line. Depends on the pond but day in and day out it will surely be the bugger. And yes, the big browns like them. I've ( and others) have fished open water in Jan or Feb if it's one of those years and gotten nice browns. I don't know if my older body could handle it now a days but used to. I tie them three ways for the waters here.

 

If the midges hatch it's all over for buggers, get out the floating line midge emergers and a long piece of 6x tippet, maybe even 7x.. We have one pond here where you need size 24 midges when that happens or the fish come up poke out their head , roll their eyes and go down fins hanging on to their bellies laughing. lol. By the same token in Late Sept or early Oct in the first light of day they will dive on a grizzly and olive Woolie Bugger the second it hits the water, hasn't even sunk yet. I don't know what they think they are but they want it. Maybe the last hurah of Hexes or something.

 

Rainbows aren't so fussy but they have their moments too..

[fshng2 0]

Match the hatch all day long.

Either dry or nymph or dropper style and use both patterns.

[fshng2 0]

.

[tjm 0]

Choosing only one or the other, I'd go with WoolyBugger, not because it is more effective so much as it is a simple fast tie. Early season would more likely see me using flymphs, though.

 

I don't consider tying simple flies to be "dumbing it down", on the contrary, in my view trying to complicate a pattern for the sake of complication is dumbing it down.

 

But in the prescience of fat headed sculpin or a fresh hatch of baby catfish the muddler minnow will out fish the wooly, most of the time.

[Mike West 0]

Marabou Muddler for me