Woolly Bugger (Olive)

Hook: TMC 3761 or any 2x shank streamer hook.

Size: #4 – 14.
Thread: black 3/0 or 6/0.
Tail: marabou, to match body and a few strands of crystal flash.
Body: chenille.
Rib: gold wire (optional)
Hackle: dyed grizzly to match body.

Beadhead:  brass, to match size of hook.

Instructions:

1.      Place bead on hook and slide forward until flush against hook eye.  You may need to crimp the barb down.

2.      Start thread and wrap up to behind bead, wrapping thickly directly behind bead to keep bead in place (a small bit of superglue or Zap-a-Gap (thick) will also keep the bead from slipping).

3.      Wrap thread back to hook bend and tie on marabou tail, approximately the length of the hook shank. Place 3-4 strands of crystal flash, just a bit longer than the tail, on the outside of the marabou.

4.      Tie on chenille and hackle feather at hook bend, and advance thread to just behind bead.

5.      Wrap chenille to bead, tie off and cut at bead head.

6.      Palmer hackle forward over chenille, about 4-5 wraps over the length of the hook. Finish with 2-3 wraps of hackle directly behind the bead. You can also palmer the hackle within the grooves of the wrapped chenille.

7.      Tie off with and whip finish.  Apply head cement.

Comments: 

     This fly should be in every fisherman’s fly box.  The Woolly Bugger has become so popular that it is more of a style of tying, rather than a specific pattern.  It is an extremely easy pattern to tie and a great fly to start off with if you are learning how to tie.  The relative large size makes it much easier to keep proportionate.  This fly can be tied in a number of different variations using dozens of different materials.  I have seen bunny strips used for a tail, cactus chenille, ice chenille, crystal chenille, grand estaz, simi-seal dubbing, and litebrite used for the body, or a dubbed body (wool dubbing mixed with flash is very effective). A variety of different colors of hackle can also be used.  Popular colors are black, olive (pictured), purple, brown, or white. Woolly Buggers can be fished as streamers, nymphs, or leeches. It can be stripped slow, fast, or jigged.  Productive year-round in Arizona for trout in almost any type of water and has worked on just about all species of warm-water fish.