by Ben Hope
A video on the website MidCurrent features Tim Cammis extolling the Woolly Bugger as a fly that “out fishes everything.”
Tim says each season anglers get excited about new flies.
“But if you took away all my flies and I could only fish with one fly the entire season there is one fly in my box that just proves itself time and time again. That fly is the Woolly Bugger. It doesn’t have to be perfect, it doesn’t have to imitate one exact thing. It doesn’t need a complicated story. It just needs to catch fish.”
The Woolly Bugger outperforms so many modern fly patterns he said.
“I have a lot respect for those simple patterns that keep producing. The Woolly Bugger is one of those flies. For many anglers it’s the first play they learn to tie.”
It was for Tim – his first self tied fly. For other anglers the Woolly Bugger is the first streamer fly they fish. Despite new trends and new fly patterns, the Woolly Bugger is in almost every angler’s flybox.
“The reason is the Woolly Bugger doesn’t ave to imitate one specific thing.
“That’s one of its biggest strengths.”
There are so many things the Woolly Bugger can pass for. We’re talking of imitating the stonefly, dragonfly nymph, damselfly, sculpin (cockabully), hellgrammite (creeper) or just something alive and vulnerable.”
Many flies imitate one specific thing. The Woolly Bugger is multi-imitation.
“The Woolly Bugger lives in this beautiful category. It’s fine that looks like a lot of trout food without needing to look like one exact food.”
“It has movement, it has contrast, it has life. And sometimes that’s all the trout needs.”
“The reason the Woolly Bugger has survived for so long is what happens when it starts to move. It has movement with marabou that breathes. We have hackle that pulses. That tail moves. What do fish respond to? It’s life. It’s a simple fly that moves naturally.”
“It’s a simple fly that is so forgiving. Take a brand new angler. That beginner angler can move it and still get some action out of the fly, not even knowing what they’re doing. An experienced angler can manipulate it and get it to do all kinds of things. You can strip it. You can swing it. You can dead drift it. You can jig it. You can crawl it along the bottom. You can pause it. You can twitch it. Streams, rivers, ponds, lakes, still waters. This fly gives you options and that’s huge.”
Tim is so right. The Woolly Bugger can be fished spinning gear, using light nylon and three or four split shot about 6 kms above the fly. In still waters such as river backwaters or lakes, a smaller, olive version imitates a damsel fly nymph which trout can selectively feed on. In water slightly discoloured a black version is ideal. Also coloured black is suited to fishing after dark.
Yes it’s a very good fly with “life” about it and tied in various colours can suit multi-situations.
The consensus among the majority of anglers is that the Woolly Bugger is the most versatile, reliable, and effective freshwater fly ever created. Wow! High praise indeed!