The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning
None
Easy - 5-7 Min
Coldwater, Warmwater
This fly needs no introduction. If you were only going to have 1 fly in your fly box it would be this. If it swims and eats, it has been caught on a wooly bugger. The flowing marabou tail, the spikey hackle, and the soft chenille body have a magical way of making fish hungry.
Ultimately the bugger is a baitfish pattern, but I think it can look like lots of things. Hellgrammites, big stoneflies, leeches, worms, the list goes on for what a wooly bugger could look like.
If you are warm water fishing use some different sizes for bass, panfish, or carp. Bass buggers are usually pretty large while panfish buggers need to be much smaller to fit in their small mouths. Use a medium sized fluffy bugger for carp.
There are lots of ways to fish these. Strip, swing, or dead drift it is sure to see some action.
When trout fishing use this fly to search for fish when nothing is hatching. Use it as a streamer to cover lots of water to find hungry fish. Try swinging the fly through current to attract strikes as well. Smaller buggers make great nymphs and should be used often as a point fly (the bottom fly on your nymph rig). Place under an indicator and drift through currents.
Bass fishing with a bugger is all about keeping it near structure and cover where bass can easily ambush baitfish.
Sunfish can easily be caught with a smaller bugger by casting in coves, points, or structure.
Carp are a sucker for buggers as well. Let them sit on bottom and slowly strip them with long painstakingly slow strips.
No hatch chart data available for this selection.
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Copyright © 2003 – 2025 MidCurrent LLC, All Rights Reserved.