If there is such a thing as a perfect universal fly that produces almost any species of fish, the wooly bugger is on the short list. From panfish to steelhead and salmon, buggers tied in various colors, sizes – weighted or not – are a go-to pattern when nothing else entices or when streamers are the order of the day.
A simple tie – probably the first pattern most of us learned how to tie – wooly buggers are only limited to a tiers imagination.
Recipe:
Hook: 2x streamer 6 – 14
Thread: Match to color of body
Tail: Marabou
Body: Chenille, yarn or like substance
Ribbing: Soft hackle – palmered
Collar: Hackle to match
This streamer can be tied with a cone head or the body weighted with lead wire to get it down. It can also be left un-weighted and let sink naturally like an emerger. Great for panfish and crappie. Tie on an egg ahead of the collar and you have an egg sucking leech.
TD