Fly of the Month Bob Ireton brings together his experience in fly fishing, aquatic entomology, and knowledge of fly tying techniques and materials, to design and tie durable and effective flies.

   Volume 5,  Issue 9                                                              September 2004

CHARTREUSE ICE WOOLLY BUGGER
Fly, Text, and Photography by Bob Ireton

Designing my own fly patterns is one of the most enjoyable aspects of fly tying for me. I think about the various materials, and what flies, or parts of flies, have been effective in the past. This past summer, I began thinking about ‘chartreuse’, and other favorite materials and flies. I like rabbit fur over marabou because it is more durable, rubber legs because they just seem to attract fish, and the Ice Dubbing residing in my stockpile of tying materials, just because it looked very interesting! After a little R&D, I took a prototype to a local limestone river for a test run. In two hours, I had landed a dozen bass, the best being a very nice 15” Smallmouth. I then lost the prototype fly to a deep snag, and the test was over. I was pleased with the results. The ‘Chartreuse Ice Woolly Bugger’ is very similar to that prototype. I hope you have a good experience with it.

MATERIALS

Hook – Daiichi 1720, TMC 5263, Dai-Riki 710, Mustad 9672, Orvis 1526, or any 3xl hook.
Size – 4-14 (or any size you can tie).
Thread – Uni 3/0 & 6/0 Chartreuse.
Weight – Lead wire.
Tail – Chartreuse rabbit hair.
Hackle – Chartreuse or Insect Green Bugger Hackle.
Body – Chartreuse Ice Dubbing.
Legs – Chartreuse/Black Flake Sililegs.

TYING STEPS -  click on pictures for larger view

1 – Place the hook properly in the vice, and mash down barb, if desired. For this fly, I am using a Daiichi 1720, size 10. You could tie this pattern in any size. Attach the 3/0 thread behind the hook eye, and lay on a good base, stopping when the thread is above the hook barb. The 3/0 size covers this, and the next step much faster than the 6/0. Tie a half hitch. Using lead wire, or non-lead substitute, approximately the diameter of the hook wire, wrap the weight to cover the mid half of the shank. I used .020 wire on this fly
2 – Build a thread ramp on both ends of the lead wire. This will enable the body materials to lay evenly. Cover the lead with the thread. At either end of fly, tie a whip finish, and remove the 3/0 thread. Coat the entire thread surface with Dave’s Fleximent.
3 – Attach the 6/0 working thread on the shank near the hook barb, and tie a half hitch. Snip a bunch of the rabbit fur for the tail. On larger sizes, just leave the hair on the hide. Position the hair on top of the shank, and let the tips of the hair extend rearward the length of the shank. Tie in the hair, snip off any excess, and cover the butts with the thread
4 – Tie in the bugger hackle by the tip end, so when you palmer it forward, the shiny side will be facing forward. The hackle lays much better if you snip off the feather fibers on the side of the hackle that will be against the hook shank. You could strip the fibers off, but be aware that doing this removes a divet from the feather shaft, weakening the shaft. You can do this step before or after you tie the hackle in
5 – Form a dubbing loop on the body above the hook barb. This is easier to do if you can rotate the hook point away from you. Bring the working thread forward, and tie a half hitch behind the hook eye. Leave the working thread in this location. Place the ice dubbing evenly in the loop of thread. After tying several flies using a dubbing loop, you will get the feel of how long to make the loop
6 – Spin the loop till you get a nice dubbing rope. Be aware that if you make the dubbing rope too tight, it will break the thread. Practice will help you master this technique
7 - If your vice has a thread holder, move it into position, and hang the working thread over it. If you have a vice with ‘rotary’ capability, this next step is much easier. Palmer the dubbing rope forward, forming a nice body. Tie the rope down, snip off the excess, if any, and tie a half hitch. If, by chance, your dubbing rope was too short, just tie yours down, and make another dubbing loop
8 – Attach hackle pliers to hold the hackle, if needed, and palmer the hackle forward. Space to suit your taste. Tie in the hackle, snip off any excess, and form a nice head. Tie a half hitch
9 – Cut two pieces of leg material. Each piece will be two legs, and each leg will be approximately the length of the hook shank. Attach each piece in the middle to each side of the fly where the body meets the head. Make any adjustments, and secure with several more wraps of thread. Bring the thread forward of the legs, and while holding the legs pulled back, tie several wraps of thread. Then tie a couple of half hitches, then a whip finish. Snip off the working thread, and apply head cement to the head

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