I know there has been several posts on this subject, however I would like to know what’s everyone’s different presentations on the wooly bugger, in detail.
Moving water?
Stillwater?
Fish targeted?
If you can do it with ANY fly, you can do it with a wooly bugger…
I like to fish them floating so;
On top, drifted for trout in moving water. Makes a good attractor fly. Fish it down stream and skate it across the water. Fish it across and twitch it, one of the few flies that will work better if you actually ‘work’ it on a trout stream. Brook trout seem especially fond of them.
On top in still water for trout, just let it sit and give it an occasional twitch, makes a convincing hopper inmitation. You can ‘wake’ it by lifting hte rod slowly, causing the fly to glide across the water, leaving wake on surface. Brown trout in lakes seem to like that.
On top in warm water lakes, work it however you want for bass and bluegills. Little twitches, long pulls, slow strips, combinations of all of them.
On smallmouth streams, let the thing ride the current while occasionally giving it a hard twitch. Cast it under overhanging brush. After it reaches the end of a drift, let it swing them retrieve it back upstream. Smallies hit these with abandon.
In cold lakes for pike, big 'buggers worked quickly across the surface can generate heart stopping strikes.
Just touched the ‘surface’ so to speak, but others will add on…
Good Luck!
Buddy
Buddy,
Interesting I’ve never fished a bugger on top. Do you apply floatant? What materials are you tying them with that keep them afloat?
Myself I’ve success just changing the strip-speed and length. My favorite is to quickly strip small amounts of line (maybe 6 inches at a time)all the way in. I’ve had my most violent strikes from rainbows and browns doing this as well as LM. For cutts I’ve had most luck stripping a foot in then letting it sit for a few seconds. I’ve had this work also for LM, but not as much. For crappie and most other warm water fishies (excluding bass) I strip, very slowly, about 2 feet of line and then sit for 3 seconds. Then repeat.
These are all still-water techniques. I’ve only ever done well on moving water with the first described technique.
Wild One,
Depends on the water.
Obviously you don’t add any weight to the fly. I tend to use light wire aberdeen hooks for these ‘floating’ wooly buggers.
If you permanently waterproof a plain old 'bugger tied with rayon chenille, it will float well in most cases. I do ‘waterproof’ all the flies I use for topwater fishing.
For fast pocket water, I’ll use a foam strip for the body.
If I’m using the fly in slow or still water, I use dry fly quality hackle, and lots of it.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I like white buggers with no extra weight added. They give a long slow drop to the bottom. After it reaches bottom and let it set for a few seconds I will strip it in like a streamer.
This way on one cast I can fish it on the drop like you would a rubber worm and then strip it in like a minnow.
Then there are the 3000 other ways that work to fish it.
:lol: :lol:
i like to tie them witth a bead and then soon as it hits the water strip as quick as possible with 2 inch strips. 
it makes the bugger dip up and down
works awesome for me
-
I get kidded for doing this but it works. I let a wolley bugger sit down stream from me and ‘not moving’. Actually to a fish it looks like something actually swimming in the stream and ‘holding it’s own’ against the stream.
Ocassionally I will strip it up stream a little.
It seems the longer fish see it ‘swimming’ the more they think it’s alive. -
I will throw it in the main stream body and just when it is about to make it out of the fast-moving water to calmer water I will strip it into the calmer water and it will get a hit near the junction of the waters.
I have not had much luck with stripping wolley buggers in lakes and ponds but that is just me…I take it back! I caught two 2.5-3 lb bass on an olive wolley bugger with dumbell eyes just today. I made it a few weeks ago just for fun and low and behold it works!
Saturday a week ago - 20+ crappie all near the surface with 1-2" strips on #10 peacock and grizzly woolly bugger with various tails
BBW, I agree with you about leaving woollies and other sub-surface flies hanging suspended. This trick seems to be best for smallmouth at the beginning or end of fast water. I also use it in pocket water. I like to cast to pockets that are in the middle of a stream but that are isolated by currents.
Ed
I like to fish them in moving water, slightly weighted and with only imparting a bit of action by twitching and adding just a few strips. The rest of the action come from the fly itself.
I typically cast “quartering” upstream (i.e. up and angled across). I immediately throw in an upstream mend which help the bugger sink faster and keeps the fly line from developing a belly.
When it gets across from me I throw in another mend, but not too much.
I then let it swing across the current and downstream.
I jiggle the rod tip left and right to get more movement as I trip and jerk upstream a bit, before picking up the line and casting, usually with just one false cast.
This allows you to fish the bugger like a nymph, wet fly, and streamer, all during one retrieve.
For unweighted buggers & woolly worms, I fish them in still water with a slow drop, then a slight strip & drop again.
In streams, I also have great success as BBW said in his #1. I will add that I prefer internally weighted and unweighted buggers over bead heads, but that’s just my personal preference.
Lastly…is there a WRONG way to fish 'em?
Mike
I’ve been nailing pond bass with dumbell-eyed buggers lately. Darned things will hit them ‘on the drop’. That is just too cool.
BBW, do you usually use heavily weighted flies to keep them down a little deeper with this (#1) technique? Also, congrats on the pond bass. Sounds like a great time!
Hey Bowfin, did you tie those weighted, or unweighted? I think I wanna tie some up myself.
Thanks
Gigmaster,
#10 - 9672 , Tails were olive or black, copper or brass beadhead, 4-5 strands of peacock hurl - twisted, grizzely hackle, with one side stripped off, and counterwrapped with fine copper wire.
Tightlines,
Kyle