The Woolly Bugger is one of the most effective and versatile flies ever conceived. My wet-fly box always contains several size 6s in the original colors and materials. Each is tied with a black marabou tail, 8-12 wraps of lead wire under an olive chenille body, and a black rooster saddle feather. Tied on a 3xl hook, a size 6 is generally the largest size with which I chase trout and fresh water bass. Wonderfully simple, this recipe is likely to be one of the first attempted by new tiers, and it can be tied in an infinite number of color combinations.

A baby bugger sporting a muskrat fur tail and an ice dub body with ginger hackle.

But for me, this leech-looking fly is definitely not a joy to cast. Most of my freshwater fishing is with an 8 or 9 foot 5-weight rod, and chucking a weighted size 6 Woolly Bugger down and across a river is not exactly a relaxed or smooth operation, especially in wind-assisted conditions.

In contrast, I have found that a size 10 casts very nicely, and turns over smoothly on the end of a 4x tippet. If you buy your buggers you know that size 10 is usually the smallest size available. However, with a few modifications Woolly Buggers can be incredibly effectiveness in even smaller sizes. Hook sizes 12 - 16, in 2x or 3x lengths, make delectable "Baby Buggers", and the smallest of these turn over smoothly on a 5x or 6x tippet, and can be cast enjoyably on lighter rods.

Small buggers benefit from modified recipes. Starting with size 10, I tie buggers as small as size 16 using alternate materials. In his book "No Hatch To Match", Rich Osthoff offers the recipe for one of his favorite prospecting flies, a size 12 Soft Hackle Woolly Worm. Rich uses a clump of rabbit fur for a tail, a dubbed body, and two or more webby hen neck feathers for a soft but densely hackled appearance. Because the photo in his book shows a tail of about the length of the hook shank, I believe he has actually tied a Woolly Bugger, not a Woolly Worm. But, no matter what the name, he has created a very buggy and seductive fly.

The recipes below have proven themselves time and again. Although I have indicated a range of sizes, if I had to choose one size to be my favorite it would be size 14 3xl for trout, size 12 2xl for smallies and panfish, and size 10 3xl for largemouths. One final note is that the recipes call for hen neck feathers rather than the traditional rooster saddle feathers. This is because hen is typically softer than rooster. Either way, rooster or hen, I recommend stripping off one side of the fibers for a more subtle appearance.

Dubbed Buggers Use your favorite buggy- or flashy-looking dubbing. In these examples I used Hare's Ear and squirrel. Hook: Size 10 - 16, 2xl or 3xl Thread: 3/0 Danville (6/0 Danville for size 16) Weight: 8-12 wraps of thin lead wire and/or beadhead Tail: Clump of rabbit or other fur. Zonker strips of rabbit fur are available in many colors. Body: Fur dubbing Hackles: One or more hen or rooster neck feathers, depending on the length of the feathers or the effect desired. On each of the samples shown here I stripped one side of the feather before wrapping for a softer appearance.

Hare and Herl Buggers The "Hare and Herl Bugger" is my favorite bugger. I fish it upstream and downstream, and at all other points of the compass. Play around with swinging it, dead-drifting it, or stripping it. Tied on a size 14 3xl or size 12 2xl hook, this is the most versatile wet-fly I have ever used. Hook: Size 12 - 16, 2xl or 3xl Thread: 3/0 Danville (6/0 Danville for size 16) Weight: 8-12 wraps of thin lead wire and/or beadhead Tail: Clump of rabbit fur Body: 3-4 peacock herl fibers and 2 black Krystal Flash strands, twisted together to make a durable chenille rope Hackles: Dun colored hen neck feather with one side of the hackle stripped off

Ostrich Herl Buggers When wet, ostrich herl makes a slender yet motion-filled body. A bit more fragile than peacock herl, I like to use a wire rib to fortify this fly. Ostrich herl comes in many dyed colors, so there's plenty of room to experiment. Hook: Size 12 - 16, 2xl or 3xl Thread: 3/0 Danville (6/0 Danville for size 16) Weight: 8-12 wraps of thin lead wire and/or beadhead Tail: Bunch of ostrich herl fibers Body: 4 strands of ostrich herl. Tie-in point is the front of the shank. Wrap rearward and then forward to form two layers. Hackle: Hen neck feather with one side of the hackle stripped off Rib: Fine gold wire, counterwrapped

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From: Tony Stevens · keepingafloat2000·at·yahoo.co.nz Submitted April 6th 2008 Whoopy Doo for the wooly buggers! This year we have been fishing high country lakes in Canterbury New Zealand for browns and rainbows with bead head buggers in green, black, yellow and hot orange. In cold water fish deep, in warm water fish top layers with a fast strip and in hot go down deeper still and slow. Results an average of 6 fish per person per trip, best brown 8 1/2 lb best rainbow 5 1/2 lb. They just love em! From: kalastaja · vehvipet·at·operamail.com Submitted April 12th 2007 Beautiful flies! These small wooly buggers (we call them leeches) also work very well for brown trout and grayling here in Finland, Europe. I always use marabou for the tail but having seen these patterns I think I should give a try to the fur tails... Being lazy, I sometimes tie them even without the hackle - with no impact on fishing. From: Edward Straitiff · straitiffedward·at·yahoo.com Submitted October 19th 2006 Frome: E. Straitiff -straitiffedward@yahoo.com I live on the White River and Norfolk river here in arkansas. The only thing I fish is the wooly bugger in small sizes on a 4 wt 8.5 rod Thay never let me down. From: SheZ · shezli·at·hotmail.com Submitted June 7th 2006 I really like the variations on materials and tying techniques used in this article. From: Eric Grove · eric.grove·at·gmail.com Submitted January 13th 2006 Always liked the woolybugger but this article has sold me on making better use of it especially for bass and panfish.Wonderfull well written and illustrated. From: chasbass · chasbass62·at·yahoo.com Submitted October 11th 2005 Bravo! great patterns that catch fish,,.I feel naked without a box of buggers! From: E.R.Hayes · ernesto.hayes·at·costalibre.com.ar Submitted September 6th 2005 !!!Excellent!!!

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