Reply With QuoteRick Baerg (March 19th, 2012)
January 2012 MFTC
I thought I would post this a little bit early, considering it is the holidays and people are likely to get very busy, very quickly (myself included).
Hopefully this will kick off a good year of some really cool posts.
Hope you like this one.
The Woolly Bugger.
History: The Woolly Bugger is attributed to Russell Blessing of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, who's dressing of the fly was evolved from various smallmouth bass patterns, with the intention of representing the Dobsonfly larva. The date of origin is popularly recorded as 'early 1970s', though Ed Dentry of the Rocky Mountain News suggests 1967 as the date.
Variations: The original was tied with a dark olive chenille body, a tail of black marabou, and a palmered black saddle hackle. Russel Blessing intended to trim the hackle, but left it untrimmed because it was so effective that way. Subsequent variations include adding a gold bead at the head, or using bead chain; using flash products in the tail and body; adding rubber legs; and colour variations that run off the scale!
Bibliography: Woolly Wisdom, 1992, Gary Soucie, Fank Amato Publications. Favorite Flies And Their Histories, 1988 (First Published 1892), Mary Orvis Marbury, The Wellfleet Press, ISBN:1-55521-241-7
Materials
Hook: Mustad streamer size 8
Thread: 8/0 Olive Uni Thread
Tail: Olive Blood Quill Marabou
Body: Small Peacock Green Crystal Chenille
Flash: Green Angle Hair
Rib: Small Copper Wire
Hackle: Olive Grizzly Hackle
Bead: Copper 5/32
Starting with a size 8 mustad streemer hook, a 5/32 copper bead and some olive 8/0 uni thread, set your hook in the vice and lay down a good base of thread.
Select a peice of marabou, measure the tail, and tie in the first few securing wraps in line with the barb of the hook. For this tie I chose blood quill marabou and used the entire tip of the feather. I measure the tail to be the same length as the hook shank, adjust to personal taste. It's just a prefference, and I really like how it moves off the end of the hook shank.
I also secure in the small copper wire ribbing at this point.
Tie the copper dire down the length of the hook, and wrap the marabou feather forward, securing it just behind the bead.
Tie in some flash, for this tie I used green angle hair, secure it to the hook shank all the way back down to the origional tie in point. Select and secure in a hackle. I used an olive died grizzly hackle, tied in by the tip. I tie it in by the tip because I preffer mine Woolly Buggers to have a more active head with a slight taper towards the tail.
Select a body material and tie it in. Wrapping the thread foward to the bead. Here I've chosen a small crystal chenile in peacock green for some extra flash.
Wrap the body material forward and secure with a few good thread turns.
Wrap the hackle forward, secure at the head with thread, and counter rib it with the copper wire. I chose to counter rib this fly to add strength to the hackle. I tie for myself and the ocassional fly swap so I like to make sure that my flies are tough. I have enough on my mind on the river without having to worry about my flies falling to peices.
I hope you all enjoyed my take on a classic fly, it's a great pattern that can be litteraly fished for every species of fish out there.
Please feel fee to add comments, prefferences, and even your own photos of your own versions of this fly.
Tight lines,
Scott.
ps We still need someone for February, if no one steps up I'll do my best to come up with another step by step.
Last edited by BCBound; December 21st, 2011 at 06:53 PM.
"It's a curious fact that estimated lengths and weights tend to make a fish larger than it really is!" Mike Maxwell, 'The Gilly'
Rick Baerg (March 19th, 2012)
good job Scott, hope I can contribute but the upload problem im getting has got my hands tied
Thanks Coast. Hopefully we'll sort that out soon. Not sure what the problem is.
"It's a curious fact that estimated lengths and weights tend to make a fish larger than it really is!" Mike Maxwell, 'The Gilly'
Great start to the FTMC, nice work.
Cheers Rick. I'm starting to see a bit of interest from members. Kevin and I are working out a day when we can get together and shoot one of his Spey or Dee style flies. You should see them, man they look great.
"It's a curious fact that estimated lengths and weights tend to make a fish larger than it really is!" Mike Maxwell, 'The Gilly'
This pattern was developed for Manitoba but it has become my favourite Bugger Variant anywhere! I started selling this pattern as part of the lineup available at Nicola Valley Outdoors in Merritt and 10 dozen were gone in a month!
Flies_193.jpg
Last edited by Rick Baerg; January 3rd, 2012 at 04:43 PM. Reason: this image was on flybc?? What the heck?
Nice John! I love that color of blue. I think I have a crystal chenile that someone sent me during one of our fly swaps that has that same red, blue, black body combo. Going to have to whip a few of those up and try em out.
"It's a curious fact that estimated lengths and weights tend to make a fish larger than it really is!" Mike Maxwell, 'The Gilly'
Nice job Scott, these kind of tutorials helps us beginners out alot.
Mick
i love woolly buggers, my most fished fly for trout , im too lazy to match the hatch ahah, i prefer mine to have a crystal chenile in all my body's, wieghted and with a 3/16 bead (either gold, brass or copper) on a size 6 hook, ive got a box full of them as you see. Olive works the best, but youve got to have some black and brown as well.austyn
Last edited by Blackgivesway2blue; January 15th, 2012 at 11:59 AM.
"the steelhead i fish for can have any colour fly they want... as long as it's black" - Trey Combs
Nice work Austin. That certainly looks like a box worth taking to the lake.
"It's a curious fact that estimated lengths and weights tend to make a fish larger than it really is!" Mike Maxwell, 'The Gilly'
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