The Woolly Bugger

Materials Used:

Hook - Tiemco 300, size 2-10, weighted

Thread - Match the body color.

Tail - black to marabou or color of the body

Legs - Saddle hackle palmered black or color of the body

Body - Black, olive, or brown chenille fur mixes are also good. 

Start by wrapping your black thread from the eye of the hook back about 1/8 of an inch.  Now you are going to take 1 or 2 full marabou feathers and start wrapping them back to the rear of the hook.  Leave about the length of the hook shank of marabou sticking out the rear for a tail.

Now tie in a piece of wire for the ribbing - your choice in color.  The wire should be about 3 inches long.  The most common color wire used is silver, but I am using red on this fly.  Then, tie in a 6 inch piece of strung chenille for the body.  Wrap your black thread forward in tight close wraps.  This will give you an even under body all the way down the hook. 

Wrap your chenille forward and tie it off at the front of the hook, leaving enough room for the head.  Now tie in a piece of black saddle hackle.  Wrap your hackle back toward the tail, spacing it evenly along the way.  Use your wire ribbing to secure the hackle at the tail.

 Wrap your wire rib forward and tie it off at the head.  Tie your head and whip finish it.

Add some head cement and let it dry.

       
The Woolly Bugger is one of my favorite flies.  What I like about this fly is that you can catch just about any fresh water fish with it.  This fly is also used all over the world.  People in Alaska use it to catch charr and rainbow trout.  In Argentina, fisherman use this fly to catch rainbow and brown trout.  Here in Maine, my brother has caught brown trout, brook trout, rainbow trout, salmon and bass on this fly. 

The Pheasant Tail Nymph

Materials Used:

Hook - standard nymph, sizes 14,16,18,20,22

Thread - brown 6/0 or 8/0

Tails - Pheasant tail fibers

Abdomen - butts of tail fibers

Rib - copper wire

Back - Pheasant tail fibers

Legs - tips of shellback fibers

Thorax - Peacock herl                   

These are steps 1, 2 and 3 in tying the Pheasant Tail nymph.  You are going to use brown thread on this fly.  Starting from the eye of the hook, wrap the brown thread to the rear of the shank.  Then, tie 4 pheasant tail fibers on the fly for the tail.  Make sure the tail is as long as the shank of the hook.  Now, tie on a piece of copper wire about 3 inches long.  Then, you are going to tie on 4 pieces of peacock hurl that will be wrapped forward in the next step.

You are now going to wrap the peacock hurl forward creating the body.  Once that is done, you will tie in 6 pheasant tail fibers about mid-way on the body of the fly.  These pheasant tail fibers are going to create the shell casing and wings in the next step.  After the pheasant tail is tied in, finish wrapping the body with peacock hurl.  Once this is complete, wrap the copper wire forward, leaving gaps between wraps just as you did with the Mickey Finn. 

Me reading the tying instructions for this fly

Can't tie flies without a moxie.

I am finishing the fly in this picture.

The last two steps of this fly are pretty hard.  You are going to take the pheasant tail fibers that were sticking out the back and fold them forward and tie them off at the head.  This will create the shell on the back.  The, take the fibers that are left and fold them back making sure they are divided evenly on each side, which makes the wings.  All you need to do now is tie and whip finish the head.  Add some head cement and you are finished.  Tie yourself up about a dozen of these.  You are going to want them because the brookies and browns love this nymph.

The Mickey Finn Streamer

Materials Used:

Hook - 6X long, sizes 6,8,10,12

Thread - black 3/0 or 6/0

Rib - fine oval silver tinsel 

Body - flat silver tinsel 

Underwing - yellow bucktail 

Midwing - red bucktail

Overwing - yellow bucktail

This is me getting ready to tie a Mickey Finn.

The first step is to tie black thread to the shank of the hook.

Tie in a 3-6 inch piece of flat silver tinsel, then tie in a 3-6 inch piece of silver oval tinsel.

Then, wrap your black thread back to the eye of the hook.

Now wrap your flat tinsel to the eye of the hook, tying in the flat tinsel with your black thread.  Then, wrap your oval tinsel around the flat tinsel, leaving gaps in between each wrap.

On the third step, you are going to tie in yellow and red buck tail pieces.  You want

the tips of the buck tail to just pass the shank of the hook.  Yellow goes on the 

bottom.  Make sure you stack hair fibers in a hair stacker before tying them in. 

Another picture of me tying

On this step, you are going to tie in some more yellow buck tail fibers.  After they are

tied in, tie the head and whip finish it.

Add a drop of head cement and this fly is ready to be tied on the end of a line.

My brother has caught Salmon, Trout and Bass with this fly.  This is one of the easiest streamers to tie.