Woolly Bugger- a fly for all occasions

Woolly bugger- a fly for all occasions
By Peter Langlands


For lake fishing and on occasions for rivers my favourite pattern is the woolly bugger. Tied in a variety of sizes, colours and weights the woolly bugger would have to be one of the most effective lures designed. Not only that but it is a very simple fly to tie and is one of the first patterns that people learn. The woolly bugger is an ideal imitation of bullies, several of the smaller species of native fish and when tied in smaller sizes, dragonfly nymphs. The marabou tail sweeps through the water perfectly imitating the movement that a bully makes in the water. By using a combination of different coloured hackles, chenille on the body and marabou for the tail you can make flies to deceive trout, that is in my opinion, as effective as any lure. Woolly buggers have a rounded profile that adds to their realism as a bully imitation. Bullies are one of the most ubiquitous food sources of trout. This is also one of the woolly buggers limitations and it is not as effective imitation of whitebait and smelt (such as the Matuku style lures). The only lure pattern that in my opinion that comes close in effectiveness as the woolly bugger as a bully imitation is the Mrs Simpson.

Body colour
Woolly buggers are traditionally tied in black, green and brown bodies. Yet you can use a wide range of colours and sometimes using a mix of 2-3 colours will enhance the lure’s effectiveness. Variegated (mixed colours) also imply a sense of movement in the lure. If you look at fish such as bullies, rarely are they a single solid colour, and have a distinctly disruptive colour pattern. You can also give the woolly bugger a variegated appearance by weaving together and wrapping onto the hook two different colours of chenille, say for example brown and black As an imitation of dragonflies a mix of green and yellow is highly effective. You can also tie on some white chenille at the front and use a marker pen to place eyes. On the Tongariro people place a small patch of orange at the back of the body- “Egg sucking leech” variant. There are also variegated coloured marabous available from your local tackle shop. You can also bulk up the chenille at the front of the lure , as it is suggestive of the bullies’ bulky head. You can also place a luminous bead at the back of the woolly bugger ,when night fishing. In fact I caught one of my best rainbows while fishing with such a pattern. Woolly buggers are traditionally tied on a long shank hook, but I have found medium sized hooks effective for tying a woolly bugger to imitate dragonfly nymphs. Often when fishing in lakes it pays to have a very short tail on the fly when the trout are taking short, i.e. nipping the back of the lure. Again make sure that you have a wide range of woolly buggers in your fly box, indeed I have dedicated a whole fly box to the woolly bugger.
One of friends absolutely swears by using size two woolly bugger on a long shank hook. The fly is a beast and it often deceives the huge brown which forage for bullies at the witching hours (between mid-night and 2am) at Lake Ellesmere.

Time of day to fish
Like most, but not all lures, the woolly bugger is most effective at periods of low light, dawn, dusk and through the night. As a rule of thumb the darker the night, the darker the fly. For example solid black flies on a moonless night and grey marabou or yellow bodied flies when the moon is full. Bigger flies work best on dark nights, smaller flies on moonlit nights.

Hackle colours
Like the body, a wide range of hackle colours can be used. I like using a grizzle hackles as it implies movement and gives the lure a ghostly, yet realistic appearance. The size of the hackle can also be changed to suit the angling situation. If fishing slow water use a wide hackle with lots of movement. If fishing a river then fish with a hackle of less diameter.





Weighting the fly.
I use heavily weighted buggers when fishing over drop-offs and along lake edges. Indeed a heavily weighted size two woolly bugger, when fished on a long leader, is as effective as a sink tip line.


Some final thoughts
I have also designed a woolly bugger with a spinning blade at the front which is especially effective when fishing for bold sea run fish.( and placed some luminous tape in so that it can be seen at night).The woolly bugger is truly a very versatile fly.
When tying woolly buggers, like all lures, I like to use as small a hook as possible as smaller hooks are easier to set, especially when fishing at night for rainbows which often gently pluck at the lure.
The woolly bugger is ideal for attaching in front of a luminous fly- tandem rig. You can also fish two woolly buggers in tandem. The movement of a second fly past the trout will often induce a strike.
So don’t bugger around, get some woolly buggers into your fly-box now ! They are simple and cheap to tie and have stood the test of time since their invention over thirty years ago.