Northwest Reel Life September 2024 Volume 4 Issue 1 - Flipbook - Page 17
larger, long hook shank,
making it easy for beginner
fingers (or those with older,
arthritic hands). As such,
it’s a great “introduction
to fly-tying fly”, before
tackling those challenging
#20 dry flies and nymphs!
A quick search on the
internet will provide you
with a multitude of videos
and tutorials so I won’t go
into the actual tying here,
suffice it to say if this is an
interest, you’ll find plenty
of information on how to
tie the Wooley Bugger. It’s
a great first fly to tie and is
hard to make a bad-looking
one.
Another application for the
Wooley Bugger that you
don’t hear about often, but
can be deadly effective, is
trolling behind a sling blade
for kokanee.
Go-to colors are pink, red,
and orange. Add a Mack’s
Smile Blade and a single
kernel of corn, a short
leader of 8 inches, and you
are in business. The single
hook provides excellent
penetration on strikes, but
if you’re anxious about that
single hook tying on a small
treble hook or trailing hook
is certainly fair game.
Now that I live in Montana,
more of my time is spent
fly fishing. When I arrive
at a new lake or pond if I
don’t see rising trout, I’ll
start with a sinking tip line
and Wooley Bugger in a
natural color, tans, browns,
and greens. Casting and
stripping back is a triedand-true method, as his
casting out and slowly
kicking my belly boat
along, waiting for that
solid jerk signaling another
fish fooled by this classic
and timeless fly. Whether
behind a fly rod, spinning
rod, or trolling rod, the
Wooley Bugger will get you
on fish. Give it a try, I think
you’ll be happy with the
results!
