Woolly Bugger

The Woolly Bugger is the most versatile trout fly ever created. A marabou tail provides endless life-like pulsing motion, while a palmered hackle body creates resistance and a breathing silhouette. Fish it black for leeches and dark days, olive for sculpin and bass, and white for baitfish. Strip it, swing it, dead-drift it — it catches fish every way it can be fished. An absolute must in any fly box.

Type

streamer (Streamer)

Hook sizes

#2–10

Target species

trout, bass, steelhead, salmon

Difficulty

beginner

Best seasons

spring, summer, fall, winter

Materials

• hook: 3X long streamer hook #2–10
• thread: Black or olive 6/0
• bead: Gold, black, or copper tungsten cone head (optional)
• weight: Lead wire underbody
• tail: Black, olive, or white marabou, full
• flash: Krystal Flash (2–4 strands in tail)

Tying steps

1. Slide a tungsten cone or bead onto a size 2–10 3XL hook; wrap lead wire behind the bead.
2. Start black or olive thread and wrap over the lead to secure it.
3. Tie in a full, fluffy marabou tail with 4 strands of Krystal Flash at the bend.
4. Tie in a rooster hackle feather by the tip at the bend, sized to the hook.
5. Wrap chenille forward from bend to behind the bead to form the body.
6. Palmer the hackle forward in even open spirals over the chenille body.
7. Tie off the hackle with 4 tight wraps and trim the excess.
8. Build a neat thread head against the bead or cone; whip finish and cement.