Strip, strip, strip… the intermediate sinking fly line passed through my fingers in three-inch increments. Varying the retrieve, sometimes fast sometimes slower, pausing and resuming my retrieve, I floated along in my belly tube, taking in all the remote mountain lake had to offer. A tree-lined shore, snow-covered mountains for a backdrop, and not another soul in sight.
Suddenly the line came to a hard stop, jerking my rod forward, the frantic pulling of another chunky rainbow signaled “fish on”. Catching up my line to the reel, I played the healthy native trout to me, sliding the knotless net under her belly. The glistening distinctive markings of the bow glowed vibrantly in the evening light. Gently removing my barbless fly, I cradled the tired fish while it rested. In a few moments, the rainbow impatiently strained against the confines of the net, eager to return to the cool depths of the lake. Safely recovered, I tilted the net and watched the fish dart away, a splash of cold water in my face as if to say, “don’t fool me again!”.
If you had just one fly in your arsenal to catch trout, what would you pick? The hardcore anglers of course will dismiss this question as irrelevant and silly. Fly fishing is all about matching the hatch, and there are literally hundreds of variations of flies – dry, wet, nymph, the possibilities could fill up several tackle boxes. Picking one sounds like a fool’s errand, doesn’t it? Well, I will cast my vote and be that fool. Drum roll please…
My favorite, go to fly is – the venerable Wooley Bugger.
Was that your choice as well? If not, let me expand on why the Wooley Bugger is often the first fly I will cast out on a new body of water, and some of the qualities that make this fly, in my opinion, so essential to be in your tackle box.
First, a Wooley Bugger is a wet fly which can be used in lakes, rivers, ponds, and even saltwater fishing. Wooley Buggers come in a variety of styles and colors and can be considered to imitate many different food sources for fish, including small minnows, leeches, nymphs, and anything else swimming around a lake or river. As such, Wooley Buggers are the ultimate “searching” fly, perfect for exploring new bodies of water with.
Wooley Buggers lend themselves well to more than traditional fly fishing. They can be adapted for many styles of angling and fish species. Years ago, Uncle Wes Malmberg took me to a SW Washington Lake, and long lining a Wooley Bugger with a Mack’s Smile Blade off the back of his 14 foot aluminum boat we spent a relaxing morning catching and releasing rainbow after rainbow. A couple split shots was all that was required to sink the fly under the surface and entice fish after fish to grab on. Fished bait and scent-less, we easily caught and safely released several dozen fish that day. Such a simple but deadly effective method! I immediately went home and tied up several new colors to add to my collection.
For the beginner fly-tier, the Wooley Bugger is likely the first fly you ever will learn to tie. The reason is this fly is simple to make, and is generally on a 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, 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 off with a sinking tip line and Wooley Bugger in a natural color, tans, browns, and greens. Casting and stripping back is a tried-and-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!
