Woolly Buggers

[EdD]

I think that my favorite is:

Hook: Mustad 9671, size 6 - 10
Thread: olive (or black)
Tail: Yellow marabou with a little red mixed into the center. The red seems to add a lot.
Weight: (optional) smallest lead-free wire available
Body: olive mohair yarn
Hackle: Wet fly grade yellow tied in by the small end & palmered with the larger hackle at the front. The hackle is fairly long to move a lot of water.

Note that a variant involves tying a tail of crystal chenille that is tyed in and looped around and tyed back in. The loop is parallel to the water's surface and sticks back 1/2 - 2/3 of the fly's body length. The chenille is bright chartreuse. This fly can be ginked on the top and sides so that it rides in the meniscus with the hackle on the bottom moving beneath the surface. After it sinks, it can be worked like a normal wolly bugger. This has worked well for me on bluegills.

good luck,
Ed

[Mato Kuwapi]

I'm shocked! You've never caught anything on a Woolly Bugger???

If you can have only one fly...that should be the one. I think they used to throw in Mickey Finn's into the survival kits way back when...but now ...It should be an Olive or Black WB.

Other colors that will be helpful are white, brown, claret, purple, yellow and Chartreuse. Other combinations or suggestions are to substitute Peacock Hurl for the chenille or use a synthetic Peacock chenille. A Mickey Finn Bugger works too. yellow marabou tail, red chenille body, yellow hackle. You can really go nuts with buggers. There is a book out there called Woolly Wisdom
http://globalflyfisher.com/reviews/b...gle.php?id=105

You might want to check it out.

[jimswanson]

I've caught trout, bass, and panfish on buggers, either olive or black. Haven't had one hit the fancier colored ones.

Jim

[DazWah]

i have caught fish off woolly worms, they are good ambush flies. Its winter here in Australia and hopefully i can bag a fish off a bugger this year.

[McManus]

What colors do you use for warm water vs cold water?

[wayneb]

I agree with others, my most productive woolly is a chili pepper, FOTW Fall 2003. A close second is Jay Sheppard's Patuxent special.

Thirdly for crappie my most productive fly has been a yellow wooly, especially in the spring.

Wayneb

[fishaholic69]

my go to buggers are usually black,brown, olive or white. I never tried any others yet. remember a brown bugger is a great crayfish pattern too and bass love crayfish! white is a great minnow pattern, black and olive are great for leech patterns. also try using bunny leeches in those same colors. if not then I am using clousers and that pretty much is all the streamer patterns I use. if u wanna get creative with it try a white bugger with some red hackle or sumthing to imitate blood. that be sweet

[Eight Thumbs]

So I've never caught anything off a Woolly Bugger and i really want to, so im looking for some killer color combos has anyone got any?(besides standard black and olives). Im going to tie like crazy as its too cold for me to fish.

Thanks

Hi Daz,

You may be the only regular fisherman in the world who can honestly claim to never have caught a fish on the Wooly Bugger. Even if the trout are remaining closed-mouthed, brim, chub, baitfish or something usually attack the bugger. They are almost impossible to fish incorrectly as long as you put the fly in the water. My advice would be to keep trying because this is the juicy nightcrawler of the fly world. I don't fish psychedillic versions of the bugger and usually stick pretty close to earth tones. I do add flash to the tail sometimes and sometimes use ice chenille or Master Bright dubbing for the body when I want a little extra attention. Keep trying. You can't fail with this fly. 8T

[crazy4oldcars]

I've never caught a fish on a bugger. Strictly warm water, though. I will admit, though, that I rarely tie one on to my tippet.
Other than bream fishing, I tend to throw flies that look like nymphs or other bugs. I don't even fish streamers very often. I just have more confidence that fish will eat something they recognize.
Even back an the bad-old-days spin-fishing, I tended to lures that looked and acted more like forage than trying for shock value.
I think I will tie up a few buggers this weekend to fish on my next excursion, and really give them a chance.
Who knows, I may even tie up a few with shock value.

Kirk

[Eight Thumbs]

I've never caught a fish on a bugger. Strictly warm water, though. I will admit, though, that I rarely tie one on to my tippet.
Other than bream fishing, I tend to throw flies that look like nymphs or other bugs. I don't even fish streamers very often. I just have more confidence that fish will eat something they recognize.
Even back an the bad-old-days spin-fishing, I tended to lures that looked and acted more like forage than trying for shock value.
I think I will tie up a few buggers this weekend to fish on my next excursion, and really give them a chance.
Who knows, I may even tie up a few with shock value.

Kirk

We've got to get in touch with Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Guinness Book of World Records. We've found two in the same thread. This feat may never be duplicated again. 8T