It's been a long time since Dad taught me how to tie my first fly. The Wooly Bugger is one of those flies that everyone learns early on, but continues to catch fish as well as any other pattern. It's easy to tie, big, uses minimal materials, and effective. There will always be 4 or 5 Buggers in my fly box.
When I started steelhead fishing, I was excited to learn how wild the fly patters were. No need for minuscule hooks and subtle coloring. 4 inch long pink and purple shank intruders? Yes please!
Since then, I've enjoyed tying huge, outrageously colored steelhead flies, and have been feverishly whipping up a whole flotilla of Intruders for the upcoming bike-fish trip. It's been a 2 year learning process, but I've finally improved my technique well enough that I'm pretty happy with the final product. Here is how it goes...
