By Capt. Bob Salerno
Around the time that disco became the latest dance craze, anglers
began swinging the newest fish catching pattern through their favorite
waters. The wooly bugger burst on the fishing scene about 1977 and is
probably the single most element responsible for helping to rejuvenate the
sport of fly fishing than the introduction of any new rod, reel or line.
The wooly bugger is a simple but innovative pattern that resembles no one
particular fish food or critter, yet has a reputation for catching fish when
just about everything else fails. Placed in the category of streamers, the
wooly bugger looks nothing like the traditional buck tail or feather
streamers such as the Mickey Finn, Black-nose Dace or Supervisor.
Fly tying aficionados differ as to who actually developed the
pattern. Some are certain that the fly was first tied by an old timer that
lived and fished in the Adirondacks. He would occasionally sell some of
his flies to visiting anglers. The pattern was thought to imitate small
leeches that were a staple food for the abundant brook trout found in area
ponds. Western anglers claim that the wooly bugger was first tied in Wyoming or
Montana to match the extra-large stoneflies that inhabit the streams of the
Eastern slope Rockies. Stories of the marabou-tailed fly's fish catching
success filtered eastward where entrepreneurial tiers cashed in. The true
originator may never be known.
What is certain, is that the wooly bugger has become the classic,
standard, sub-surface fly for trout in all types of waters and even under
adverse conditions. During typical early season conditions of cold and high
roiled water the wooly bugger can be a sure bet. Anglers are learning more
and more that this fly is terrific for just about any species from
smallmouth and largemouth bass, Carp to shad and Atlantic salmon. The bugger has
even been successfully used to catch saltwater game fish such as bonefish,
schoolie stripers, bluefish, summer flounder and hickory shad.
The standard wooly bugger is usually tied on a streamer hook such as
a Mustad 9672-3X in sizes 6 to 10 and weighted with lead wire that is wound around the forward third of the shank. Two to four marabou hackles are tied on for the tail. The body is wound from a length of medium chenille. A single saddle
hackle is spiraled in a technique called palmering over the chenille from the
bend to the hooks eye. Winding a piece of copper wire or 6-lb. monofiliment, counter to the hackle direction can reinforce the fly. This holds the hackle together after a fish hits the fly. The most popular colors are olive and black. There are several variations of the basic design that make the fly even more effective. Many anglers prefer their wooly bugger tied with either a bead head or cone head for weight. With the weight concentrated in the head the fly can be retrieved with a jigging effect. Cone and bead-head buggers have become very popular with ultra-light spinning enthusiasts. The weighted wooly bugger is easy to cast on light lines and provides the spin fishermen with a very fish attracting swimming action. Some fly tiers also add some flash material, like Flashabou to the tail, or spiral some krystal flash along the body, or tie in a couple of
strips along each side parallel to the hook shank.
They're several ways to fish the wooly bugger in streams. Try casting
almost directly upstream and retrieve back downstream in a series of quick
strips with pauses in between. Vary the length of the strips and time
between pauses. Be careful not to cast directly over a probable lie of a
fish with either the fly or the line. Also avoid retrieving to quickly so
that the fly does not appear aggressive. The classic time tested approach for
fishing streamers is to cast up and across the stream letting the current
swing the fly until it is directly downstream. Let the fly hang in the current
for a minute or so then retrieve it back in short erratic strips
occasionally lifting the rod tip. Another effective tactic is to dead drift
the fly through riffles such as when nymph fishing. Place the cast up and
across the stream. Hold the rod high keeping as much line off the water as
possible. Let the fly drift on a barely slack line following its path
with the rod tip. At any undue hesitation, strike quickly.
When fishing deep water or where the current is strong, the best
method is to fish with a sink tip line and a short 3 to 4 foot leader. The
sink tip line is especially effective when fishing riffled water and
drop-offs in still water.
Around the time that disco became the latest dance craze, anglers
began swinging the newest fish catching pattern through their favorite
waters. The wooly bugger burst on the fishing scene about 1977 and is
probably the single most element responsible for helping to rejuvenate the
sport of fly fishing than the introduction of any new rod, reel or line.
The wooly bugger is a simple but innovative pattern that resembles no one
particular fish food or critter, yet has a reputation for catching fish when
just about everything else fails. Placed in the category of streamers, the
wooly bugger looks nothing like the traditional buck tail or feather
streamers such as the Mickey Finn, Black-nose Dace or Supervisor.
Fly tying aficionados differ as to who actually developed the
pattern. Some are certain that the fly was first tied by an old timer that
lived and fished in the Adirondacks. He would occasionally sell some of
his flies to visiting anglers. The pattern was thought to imitate small
leeches that were a staple food for the abundant brook trout found in area
ponds. Western anglers claim that the wooly bugger was first tied in Wyoming or
Montana to match the extra-large stoneflies that inhabit the streams of the
Eastern slope Rockies. Stories of the marabou-tailed fly's fish catching
success filtered eastward where entrepreneurial tiers cashed in. The true
originator may never be known.
What is certain, is that the wooly bugger has become the classic,
standard, sub-surface fly for trout in all types of waters and even under
adverse conditions. During typical early season conditions of cold and high
roiled water the wooly bugger can be a sure bet. Anglers are learning more
and more that this fly is terrific for just about any species from
smallmouth and largemouth bass, Carp to shad and Atlantic salmon. The bugger has
even been successfully used to catch saltwater game fish such as bonefish,
schoolie stripers, bluefish, summer flounder and hickory shad.
The standard wooly bugger is usually tied on a streamer hook such as
a Mustad 9672-3X in sizes 6 to 10 and weighted with lead wire that is wound around the forward third of the shank. Two to four marabou hackles are tied on for the tail. The body is wound from a length of medium chenille. A single saddle
hackle is spiraled in a technique called palmering over the chenille from the
bend to the hooks eye. Winding a piece of copper wire or 6-lb. monofiliment, counter to the hackle direction can reinforce the fly. This holds the hackle together after a fish hits the fly. The most popular colors are olive and black. There are several variations of the basic design that make the fly even more effective. Many anglers prefer their wooly bugger tied with either a bead head or cone head for weight. With the weight concentrated in the head the fly can be retrieved with a jigging effect. Cone and bead-head buggers have become very popular with ultra-light spinning enthusiasts. The weighted wooly bugger is easy to cast on light lines and provides the spin fishermen with a very fish attracting swimming action. Some fly tiers also add some flash material, like Flashabou to the tail, or spiral some krystal flash along the body, or tie in a couple of
strips along each side parallel to the hook shank.
They're several ways to fish the wooly bugger in streams. Try casting
almost directly upstream and retrieve back downstream in a series of quick
strips with pauses in between. Vary the length of the strips and time
between pauses. Be careful not to cast directly over a probable lie of a
fish with either the fly or the line. Also avoid retrieving to quickly so
that the fly does not appear aggressive. The classic time tested approach for
fishing streamers is to cast up and across the stream letting the current
swing the fly until it is directly downstream. Let the fly hang in the current
for a minute or so then retrieve it back in short erratic strips
occasionally lifting the rod tip. Another effective tactic is to dead drift
the fly through riffles such as when nymph fishing. Place the cast up and
across the stream. Hold the rod high keeping as much line off the water as
possible. Let the fly drift on a barely slack line following its path
with the rod tip. At any undue hesitation, strike quickly.
When fishing deep water or where the current is strong, the best
method is to fish with a sink tip line and a short 3 to 4 foot leader. The
sink tip line is especially effective when fishing riffled water and
drop-offs in still water.
i use a 4-6 oz dressed jighead with the wolly bugger a floater
The wolly bugger that seems to get the best results on Fluke is tied with crystal pearl estaz and white marabou. I don't generally target fluke on the fly, but if we are fishing flats and hook one, we will sometimes change up and see if there are more around.
Last summer, my son's friend hooked and fought a fluke that weighed in on the Boca a little over 6 pounds. She caught on a estaz cone head bugger.
Last summer, my son's friend hooked and fought a fluke that weighed in on the Boca a little over 6 pounds. She caught on a estaz cone head bugger.
