Wooley Bugger

[Nick Pionessa]

HOOK- DAIICHI 1720 2-12
THREAD- 8/0 UNI TO MATCH FLY
TAIL- MARABOU QUILL
FLASH- KRYSTAL FLASH
HACKLE- ROOSTER SADDLE
BODY- CHENILLE

Step 1

Start the thread at the bend and advance it to two hook eye lengths before the eye. Leave this space behind the eye bare.

Step 2

Select a marabou quill and use the hook shank to determine the length, usually the length of the hook but longer can be done if desired. Tie it in up front with a few tight turns of thread.

Step 3

Use your left hand to hold the marabou tight over the hook shank while you wrap the thread back toward the bend with your right. This makes it easy to get it right on top of the shank and adds a little extra body to the fly.

Step 4

Clip off the marabou butts tight to the shank to preserve the bare spot we left in step 1. Now if you want to add flash, fold two strands and loop it under the hook near the bend then secure it to the sides of the shank so it lays straight along the tail with two strands on each side.

Step 5

Pull some of the fuzz from about a 1/4'” of chenille to expose the core and tie it in on the back side of the hook shank right up to the tail.

Step 6

Select a saddle hackle with enough length and with barbs that are one and a half to two times the hook gap distance. Tie it in by the tip one chenille width forward of the tails on the tyers side of the shank. Pull the butt of the feather to the left, under the thread wraps to gather some hackle barbs together to help strengthen the tie in point. Advance the thread to in front of the marabou butts.

Step 7


Take the first turn of chenille around the shank between the tail and the hackle tie in point and the next turn in front of the hackle tie in point. This step is crucial to making durable buggers since it sandwiches the hackle stem between the turns of chenille.

Step 8

Wrap the chenille forward in tight turns to the end of the marabou butts. Tie off the chenille under the hook shank

Step 9

Trim off the chenille closely and wind the thread forward to just behind the eye of the hook. We will make a few extra turns of hackle on the space between the end of the chenille and the hook eye, filling in that gap.

Step 10

Wind the hackle forward with the outside of the feather facing the hook eye the whole way so that the hackle, when finished, will have a slant toward the rear of the fly. Make three extra turns at the front of the body and tie off the bare stem on the tyers side of the shank directly behind the eye.

Step 11

Clip off the hackle stem and wrap a neat head back to the last wrap of hackle to protect it. Whip finish it twice and add head cement.