Wooly Bugger — Beadhead, black, bombproof

By Russell Blessing, submitted by Zak.

Description

Created by Russell Blessing in 1967, the wooly bugger catches any fish, anywhere. The variants are only limited by your imagination. I like a beadhead to make the bugger dive during pauses in the retreive.

Tying Process

Set a 3XL or 4XL streamer hook wioth a bead in the vise. Wrap thread in touching turns from bead to bend. Tie in marabou tail with two strands of crystal flash. Tie in wire at base of tail, with 6-8" of wire extending off the rear of the hook. Create the body with dubbing, peacock herl, or chenille and tie body off behind bead. Tie in a long, webby bugger hackle feather by its base behind the bead. Take one full turn of hackle behind the bead, then wrap/palmer the hackle feather back to the wire in open spirals. Catch the hackle feather with two turns of wire, then wrap the wire forward in open spirals, counterwrapping the hackle feather. Tie off wire behing bead and whip finish. Scrub the body agressively with Velcro or a dubbing brush, destroying the "screw" effect of the hackle feather to prevent spinning on the retrieve. Apply head cement to thread wraps behind bead.

Materials

• Body: dubbing, peacock herl, or chenille
• Hackle: long webby bugger hackle
• Tag/Tail: marabou with crystal flash

Hooks

• 3-4X long streamer

Fly types: Streamer