Luke,

If I was picking a 'bugger to fish with, I'd pick your 'first' one over the one you posted in your initial post.

I've been collecting fly tying books for twenty years, and almost all of them show a wooly bugger variation or two. Very few of these looked alike in proportion, tailing density and length, hackle density and length, etc.. Many include an extra turn of hackle at the head for a 'pusher' effect, many do not. Tailing materials vary wildly from the now considered 'standard' marabou.

You can add flash materials to the tail, wrap it through the body, lay it alongside the body, use a wire rib, or not. Wind the hackle from back to front or front to back. Slimmer and longer or shorter and fatter. Bead heads, dumbbell eyes, bead chain, lead underwraps....whatever you like.

The amazing thing about ALL these variations is that they ALL catch fish.

As far as tying time goes, it's slow for everyone when they are first starting out. A simple 'bugger with my rotary vise can be tied in under a minute, but thats after years of practice at it. If you can tie fishable flies in ten minutes and are enjoying the experience, then you are on the right track.

Have fun, experiment. Make them look good to YOU. The fish will eat them if you present them properly, and with a 'bugger it's hard to do that wrong.

Buddy