Keep a good assortment of this pattern. Given that Woolly Buggers imitate so many different types of food, they can be dead drifted beneath an indicator in a tandem nymph rig or swung through the current. The first reason the fish are so interested in buggers is that in any color they move through the water in the many ways baitfish do. You can fish buggers in several ways. The final spot to focus is near drop-offs. I fish it upstream and downstream, and at all other points of the compass. You know that something is productive when it has stood the test of time, and this is the case with the Woolly Bugger. Bill Spicer is on the North Platte River learning about how to nymph fish using woolly buggers and other flies. If this happens, you have the potential to kill your drift, so be sure you’re careful with where you cast. Fly Fishing Wooly Buggers Techniques, Tips & Tricks. As a result, you’re going to want to use a larger rod. Leader is extremely important when you’re using buggers. Go ahead and spend your time fishing for bass in the usual spots that you would and you’ll have plenty of success when using buggers. Another option is to cast across the current, let the flies sink and swing in the downstream current. How to Effectively Fish Woolly Buggers in Rivers, Gear Review: Lid Rig Magnetic Nipper System, Video of the Week: “Return to Us”: Restoring Alaska’s Eklutna River. Easy! They’re going to act as a jerk bait, swim bait or any sort of soft plastic that you would use on a spin or bait casting rod. On central Oregon’s Deschutes River I had a great five-mile float casting a Woolly Bugger and Pteronarcys stonefly imitation in tandem. Wooly Buggers and salmon are a match made in heaven. Make sure you have a good mend so you get a nice long drift. If you choose to swing your fly for trout, Cast up and across stream and let it drift. They represent a lot of different things in fly fishing such as minnows, bait fish, leeches, stone fly nymphs, crayfish, dragonfly nymphs, and so much more. I caught my first ever fish on a fly rod with a Wooly Bugger. It is, in fact, a pattern that will catch anything from sea-run brookies to smallmouth bass. They’re use to hard baits or soft plastics. Now, wooly buggers … The Wooly Buggers for trout may mistakenly have the Wooly Buggers thinking of some prey or have them as a reflex. Dead drift a woolly bugger and it’s very effective at imitating stoneflies, hellgrammites and leaches. And they don't just work, they work almost everywhere. Anything less than a 5-weight is going to require quite a bit of skill and finesse to cast. Again, salmon will strike out of aggression so if they see a flashy wooly bugger making its way down stream, it’ll hit it regardless of how much movement it has. You can fish for almost any type of fish with a wooly bugger. Use versatility. Allow the wooly bugger to dead drift then tug your line to jerk the wooly bugger and make it move. Firstly, they don’t have as many fly fishing products as Trident does and with Amazon, you rarely get any customer support, returns, price matches or guarantees. On the first day at Camp Tightloops, she gets teased by the dry flies for being different. I find them most effective dead drifting more nymph-like although I know that alot of guys like to strip them ala streamer style. Code: S-BHFP. Use different methods to lure the game fish. Using a multi-colored Woolly Bugger or some sort of variant is not a bad idea. From then on, I have fallen in love with them and do my best to use them every time I get the chance. You have a few options when fishing a wooly bugger in one of the pools. Required fields are marked *. The traditional wooly bugger is unweighted. Another favorite location is the inside of bend pool. Dead Drift. The Bugger is a slight variation of the ubiquitous Wooly Worm, which sports a body and hackle much like the Buggers’ but either no tail at all or a short stub of brightly colored yarn. Now, wooly buggers … After it passes downstream you can strip it in and try again. Don’t head out to fish for Salmon without reading this article. One of those staple flies is the woolly bugger. You need the reel to match your rod because it will not only throw off the balance, but it won’t be able to handle some of the larger fish. The reason the woolly bugger works so well, is because the pattern does a marvelous job of representing trout food that fall into each category. The fly puffs and billows as it floats in the current, making it look lifelike. Become a Life Member! You will want to start out by tying a crane swivel to the end of your leader with a clinch knot. I'm pretty sure I missed the same fish late this afternoon, also on a weighted white wooly bugger… Dead drift, strip fast, strip long and slow, swing, dangle downstream, you cant fish them wrong as long as they are in the water. As far as flies are concerned, there are few flies that are considered to be versatile. Once again, the mobile buffet will provide easy pickings for trout while allowing them to hold without burning … Cast upstream at a 45 degree angle and mend your line as it drifts down stream. Fishing the Woolly Bugger as a nymph. Whether it’s a rod that can perform in a variety of situations or an expendable fishing pack, anglers take advantage of these pieces of equipment. While these techniques really keep the fly from moving around a lot, imparting a bit of motion can trigger strikes. You will most likely start with a selection of the tried and true staple flies known for catching trout. Every spare weekend or long break was dedicated to finding fish. Another option you have when fishing a wooly bugger in a lake is to fish close to shore. In these cases, you can use weight forward or even floating line. Don’t head out to fish for Brook Trout until you read this guide. The Woolly Bugger approach is so good it should be banned. Or you could dead-drift a Wooly Bugger to imitate a stonefly or dragonfly nymph. This will give the fly a chance to drop in the column and entice the fish. A size ten woolly bugger has been a great fly for me on the old tenkara rod. Another option is to cast across the current, let the flies sink and swing in the downstream current. Check out his Instagram @gemichaels to see what he is up to. Use different methods to lure the game fish. How to Effectively Swing Streamers and Wet Flies. Enter your name and email and receive our 2020 Fly Fishing Gear Buyer’s Guide for free, plus get our new articles to your inbox each week. Since it imitates a wide variety of bait, you never know what you’re going to catch.Go ahead and visit your local lake or pond and start throwing your wooly bugger. As long as your leader is long enough to reach the proper place in the water, you’re good to go. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Woolly Buggers come in a variety of colors and sizes. Adjust the indicator depending on the depth of the run. Allow your flies to swing in the current which can entice an eat. They aren’t going to sink nearly as fast, but the pattern still imitates a variety of species so you shouldn’t have any trouble landing fish with an unweighted bugger. or split shot added to your leader. A Wooly Bugger can imitate a minnow, crayfish or larger fly. Other Woolly Buggers. If you know that the fish are going to be sitting in the bottom of the water column in fast moving water, you’ll need weight. Hence Woolly Buggers flies attract more bait fishes. If you are new to fly fishing, odds are you will start with a 9′ 5 wt rod with a weight forward floating line and a 4x tapered leader. Depending on what type of fishing you are doing, you’ll need different types of line. To fish a woolly bugger in this way, you could easily be imitating a swimming leech; a fly in size 4-6 is a good choice. Fishing With Wooly Buggers: An Angler’s Guide, Gear To Use When Fishing With Wooly Buggers, Fly Fishing Wooly Buggers Techniques, Tips & Tricks. On a good dead drift the indicator must lead the fly line down stream. Drift these flies in the deep water. If you’re looking to imitate a leech, slow and short strips are going to do the trick. Dead drifting is essentially nymphing the woolly buggers to imitate dead bait fish. Depending on how high the water is, you may need to use extra weight, either tied into the fly (lead around the shank, bead head, etc.) They are going to strike if it matches the water color too closely. This is a great technique to use when you’re looking to fish for salmon. ... Dead Drift. A fly that he uses quite a bit is called the Goblin. It is a Woolly Bugger variant. Tried and true patterns that are sure to “save the day”. The Woolly Bugger is one of the most effective and versatile flies ever conceived. Fly fishing wooly buggers in a pool is some of the most fun fly fishing possible. Essentially this boils down to working flies through slicks in faster water, slow seams near faster current, and other deep (or not so deep) holding spots. You can’t go wrong targeting any species of fish with one of these. As soon as the fly enters the front of the pool, wait. Wooly Buggers work exceptionally well for bass. Dead Drifting. No fancy stripping or jigging the fly is required. Use fast and hard strips with pauses in between. Our goal is simple: inspire the next generation to get outdoors and hit the water! Bottom Bounce Technique: In this technique, the Wooly Bugger is allowed to touch the bottom of the surface under the water. 0 or 1x leader can feel somewhat excessive, but it’s well worth it! Fish are not always going to respond in the same way to your retrieve. It can be dead drifted, swung, or stripped, and it’s equally effective in all three cases. I’ve also had great success fishing Woolly Buggers along undercut banks in … Today I was killing panfish and Pickerel with white Wooly Buggers and I … Change the speed, length and type of retrieve that you do. When you’re fishing with wooly buggers, you want to be sure that the fish are feeding near the bottom of the water column. As mentioned previously, woolly buggers are world famous and have been known to catch fish for years. The Woolly Bugger is the root pattern for quite a few successful steelhead flies. 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