Crystal Bugger (Wooly Bugger) has been used by John Bush with great success.
John said “the secret to this fly in my opinion is the chenille. You can find it at Bass Pro and most of the local fly shops have started carrying it as well. It says “Woolly Bugger Chenille” on the package and has a lot of sparkly flakes in it that really make it pop. I’ve tried essentially the same pattern in a solid black, and this outperforms it hands down.”
Materials
- Hook: TMC 9395 or substitute streamer hook of you choice
- Hook Size: 8, 10
- Tail: Black Marabou and Pearl Crystal Flash
- Body: Black Wooly Bugger Chenille, small or medium depending how thick you want the body
- Hackle: Black Saddle Hackle – cheap stuff works really well for this
- Thread: Black 140 denier or heavier UNI-Thread
- Optional:
- Non-Lead wire to match the shank of the hook
- Head: Brass Bead
- Start thread about 1/8 inch behind the eye and build a base back to the barb of the hook.
- Tie in a Marabou tail approximately the length of the hook shank above the barb.
- Tie in 2 strands of crystal flash with the Marabou, one on each side of the hook shank. I usually just tie in one strand and double it back over the marabou and cut it to length.
- Tie in saddle hackle
- Tie in Chenille and wrap forward to about 1/8 inch behind the eye and tie off.
- Palmer saddle hackle forward to the end of chenille and tie off.
- Whip finish and cement a head and you’re done.
Like any woolly bugger, feel free to tie in multiple colors as desired. Black has been the most successful for me, but I’ve also had good luck with Olive and have a few tied up in white, plus I’m planning on tying some up in purple as well.
Fish on a 2.6 ips sinking lead with erratic strips and it seems to drive the fish crazy.