A woolly bugger can be whatever the fish want: crawdad, nymph, leach, minnow, polliwog, probably some other things as well. It just looks alive no matter how it is fished.
A woolly bugger can be whatever the fish want: crawdad, nymph, leach, minnow, polliwog, probably some other things as well. It just looks alive no matter how it is fished.
I can think of few acts more selfish than refusing a vaccination.
The Woolly Bugger is something of an enigma. It does not fit the design parameters to be called a streamer, but can be fished like one. Likewise for a nymph pattern. and even the wet fly, yet it can be fished as any of these. Even trying to classify it as a generic bass fly is programmatic, because every fish I know of attacks them viciously under the right conditions, including carp, walleye, pike, catfish, some marine species, and I'm told even salmon are not immune to it's charms. In fact, the only classification I can come up with that really fits it is ultra-successful. So much, in fact, that some places have actually considered banning it from their watersheds.
Credit for the Woolly Bugger's birth is usually credited to Russell Blessing of Harrisburg, Pa. in 1967. He wanted a smallmouth bass fly that closely imitated the local helgramites. In actuality, the Woolly Bugger is a modification of an older Fly called the Woolly Worm designed by a California Fly Fisherman, Don Martinez, in the late 1920s, which itself is a modification of a much older British fly called the Palmer Fly, that dates back to before the time of Izaak Walton in the 1500s. It was originally designed to imitate the Woolly Bear caterpillar.
The addition of a long flowing tail, and weight evolved the fly into a whole new league. Depending on how it is fished, it can represent a leech, helgramite, baitfish, crawfish, a nympth, or maybe nothing in nature at all. By making an extra-long tail from long, thin streamer feathers, it even works as a purple worm (thanks to Richard Komar, of Plano, Texas for coming up with this one, called the Hard-Hackled Worm. Richard is one of us, on FAOL). The only sure thing is that the fish really like them, no matter what they think they are. Tied in smaller sizes, they can incite a feeding frenzy of sunfish and crappie. In medium sizes, they can be like a magnet to trout and smallmouth bass. In larger sizes, they can be irresistible to large bass, striped bass, redfish, seatrout, and practically anything else that swims, anywhere in the world. If you can get the fly to them under the right conditions, the Woolly Bugger will catch anything, period. If you could only have one fly to fish with, this would be it.
Personally, I use them as an easy-to-tie crawfish pattern. It is simplicity itself to put a little weight on the top of the hook shank (or use Clouser Eyes) so that it rides hook-up, and can be fished right on the bottom. It is also easy to tie weed-guards on them, using very heavy monofilament, for fishing in heavy cover for LG bass.
If there is a wrong way to fish this pattern, I have not found it, yet. You can strip it in, hop it in, or just let it drift. You can fish it in fast water, slow water, clean water, dirty water, in cover, or out in the open. You can fish it deep, or shallow, and anywhere in-between. Using an extra-long shank hook, and omiting the weight, you can tie the pattern behind a popper, or deerhair head, and use it as a topwater "chugger". I have even tied this pattern onto the back of jigheads (they are super-deadly tied on stand-up jigheads...), and in-line spinners, and used it with an ultralight spinning rod, and it works just as good. It is as close to a fool-proof fishing bait as there is, even better than live bait, in most cases.
If you haven't guessed, the Woolly Bugger is one of my all-time favorite patterns. I have considered writing a book just on the Woolly Bugger, it's variations, and ways of fishing it. It deserves it's own book.
Last edited by Gigmaster; 03-03-2013 at 04:24 AM.
Gigmaster:
There is a book on the bugger called "Woolly Wisdom " by Gary Soucie.
Dr Bob
Bob Widmaier
My biggest fear when I die is that my wife will sell my fly fishing gear for what I told her I paid for it!
I call them my "I need to tie someone to get my brain back so let's do some strange wonderful things that I imagine will catch fish and I feel better after tying!"
Mike
"Gigmaster:
There is a book on the bugger called "Woolly Wisdom " by Gary Soucie.
Dr Bob"
....and it is a great book! It covers Woolly Worms and Woolly Buggers. There are 400 patterns with recipes. There are patterns for warm water, cold water and salt water.
Warren
Fly fishing and fly tying are two things that I do, and when I am doing them, they are the only 2 things I think about. They clear my mind.
Wouldn't you know it.......
Oh well. It just shows that brilliant minds think alike.........
I looked it up on Amazon.com. Wow! That is one expensive book. A used paperback version for $23.00. I wouldn't pay that for a new hardback, for any book.
Originally Posted by WarrenP
Last edited by Gigmaster; 03-05-2013 at 07:15 AM.
they were originally tied to imitate the hellgramite here in Pa.
sandfly/bob
N.J.B.B.A. #2215
I did not escape.....they gave me a day pass!
from the outer edge of nowhere
fly tying and fishing ghillie..
A Woolly Bugger imitates "everything". Depending on its color, size and materials can be a streamer, stonefly, leech, etc. Here in Argentina I caught not just trout and salmon but Dorado (Salminus Maxillosus) and other local species on them (freshwater and sea species). I also caught bonefish in Belize on white and tan color WBs. Is just a killer-attractive thing, with an incredible shape and movement.
10 and smaller, a Nymph, Bigger, a bugger...so simple. I tie up some CBS seal buggers on #12 hook and they are killer during Damsels time.
Hi All,
When I fish one, I fish it as a streamer.
Regards,
Gandolf
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