The Wooly Bugger is a popular pattern for lakes and streams
The Wooly Bugger has proven to be an effective trout fly in lakes and streams. The fly is versatile as it can be fished as a nymph, wet fly, streamer or trolled. The Bugger, as it is commonly called, can be tied in a variety of colors. It is made up of a marabou tail, chenille body and soft wet fly hackle. The all black, brown and olive are the most popular patterns; however, the three parts can be different colors from each other.
Instructions
1. Clamp the bend of the hook in the vice so the hook shank is parallel with the table top. Start wrapping the thread clockwise around the shank starting just behind the hook eye. Wrap the thread to the rear stopping just above the hook barb.
2. Pinch the fibers from one side of a marabou feather and cut them off against the feather's stem. Even up the tips of the fibers. Lay the fibers on the top of the hook shank above the hook barb with the tips to the rear of the hook.
3. Adjust the marabou fibers until they extend out the back of the hook a distance equal to the length of the shank. Wrap the fibers down to the shank with four turns of thread. Cut off the excess butt ends of the fibers next to the thread wrap.
4. Pluck a hackle off of a wet fly neck or from a group of strung saddle hackle. Choose a hackle that has fibers that will extend past the point of the hook when wrapped around the shank. Strip the fibers off the tip of the hackle.
5. Lay the hackle tip across the hook shank at a 90 degree angle to it, the fibers vertical and the butt of the hackle pointing away from you on the far side of the hook. Slide the hackle across the shank up to the fibers and back against the marabou tail. Tie the hackle down with three turns of thread over the tip.
6. Set the chenille end on the hook shank over the tied down hackle tip. Tie the chenille end down to the shank with three turns of thread. Wrap the thread forward along the shank to the hook eye and let the bobbin hang.
7. Wrap the chenille around the shank going toward the hook eye in a clockwise direction. Keep the turns of chenille tight against each other allowing no gaps between turns. Wrap to a point behind the hook eye equal to two lengths of the eye, tie the chenille down with three turns of thread and cut the chenille off.
8. Clip the hackle pliers onto the stem butt of the hackle and wrap the hackle toward the eye in a spiral with gaps between the wraps. There should be five or six evenly spaced turns of hackle over the chenille body. Tie the hackle down over the chenille wraps with three turns of thread and cut off the excess hackle stem.
9. Finish the fly by wrapping the thread back and forth from the front of the body to the back of the hook eye. Form the thread into a cone shaped head and finish it off with three half hitches. Paint fly head cement over the head using the tip of the bodkin and cut off the thread.
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