Riverstone Black Woolly Bugger
by @dekasso
Woolly Bugger · Streamer
Dark shape drifting over pale stones
A gold cone Woolly Bugger in black and dark olive, size 8, for stripping leeches and baitfish past trout and bass.
A black Woolly Bugger with a gold cone, a long marabou tail and a soft, smoky collar. Dark olive chenille, silver wire and silver flash catch the light over a palmered black hackle.
- Pattern
- Woolly Bugger
- Imitates
- Leech or baitfish
- Hook
- size 8
- Tippet
- 3Xrule of three
- Gold cone head sinks it fast
- Long black marabou tail with silver flash
- Silver wire ribs a dark olive body
- Soft black CDC collar behind the cone
- Size 8 streamer hook
On the water
Black marabou trails long behind the hook, threaded with a few strands of silver flash. The dark olive body sparkles under a silver wire rib, and a fluffy black collar puffs out behind a bright gold cone.
Fish it through runs and the tail of pools, where the gravel turns from pale to dark. Let the cone pull it down, then strip in short, uneven tugs and pause. The marabou and collar breathe on every stop.
CDC for the collar works best spun in a dubbing loop. Two or three turns behind the cone is plenty, then stroke the fibres back so they wrap the front of the body like smoke.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 3Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, with fluorocarbon tippet to get it down
- Tie on 2X to 3X tippet with a loop knot so the tail swims freely.
- Use a sink-tip line in deep runs and let it settle before the first strip.
- Vary the retrieve: short strips, long pauses, and a twitch as it rises.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Leech or baitfish
- Target
- Trout, Smallmouth bass
- Water type
- Runs, deep pools and stillwater margins
- Also fishes
- Swung on a sinking line in cold rivers, or crawled slowly along weed edges in lakes and ponds.
Make it yourself
Intermediate7 materials · 10 steps
- Pattern
- Woolly Bugger
- Style
- Streamer
- Hook
- 3XL streamer hooksize 8
- Thread
- black 6/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- Beadgold brass cone head
- Tailblack marabou
- Flashsilver Krystal Flash
- Ribsilver wire
- Hackleblack saddle hackle
- Bodydark olive chenille
- Collarblack CDC
Details
- Colors
- black, dark olive, gold, silver
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
- Slide the gold cone onto the hook, small hole toward the eye, and set the hook in the vise.
- Start the black thread behind the cone and build a small thread dam to lock it in place.
- Wrap the thread back to the bend and tie in a black marabou tail about one shank length long.
- Add two strands of silver Krystal Flash on each side of the tail, trimmed just shy of the marabou tips.
- Tie in the silver wire at the bend, then the black saddle hackle by its tip.
- Tie in the dark olive chenille and wrap it forward in touching turns, stopping a few millimetres short of the cone.
- Palmer the hackle forward in four or five open turns over the chenille and tie it off.
- Counter-wrap the silver wire forward through the hackle so it locks the stem, then tie off and break it away.
- Form a dubbing loop, lay in black CDC fibres, spin it tight and wrap two or three turns behind the cone.
- Stroke the CDC fibres back, whip finish against the cone and add a drop of head cement.
Proportions (4)
- Tail: marabou about one full shank length, flash slightly shorter.
- Body: chenille covers roughly the rear four fifths of the shank.
- Hackle: fibres about one and a half times the hook gap.
- Collar: CDC fibres reach back to around the hook point.
Tips (4)
- Wet your fingers and pinch the marabou before tying in to keep it neat and centred.
- Tie the hackle in by the tip so the longer fibres sit at the front.
- Keep the CDC loop sparse; a few fibres move better than a thick wad.
- Pick out any trapped hackle fibres with a needle after ribbing.
Common mistakes (4)
- Tail too long fouls on the hook bend; keep it near one shank length.
- Crowding the cone leaves no room for the collar; stop the body early.
- Wrapping the wire the same way as the hackle crushes fibres; counter-wrap it.
- Loose cone slides and spins; build a firm thread dam behind it first.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 8 · Materials only · 12 flies
$66.80
$5.57 a fly
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 11 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$6.50
- Gold brass cone head$7.50
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$2.95
- Silver wire$3.25
Materials
- Black marabou$4.95
- Silver Krystal Flash$3.95
- Black saddle hackle$11.95
- Dark olive chenille$5.90
- Black CDC$13.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 48 flies
$169.34
$3.53 a fly
Bought separately $178.25 · you save $8.91
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 11 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$13
- Gold brass cone head$15
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$5.90
- Silver wire$6.50
Materials
- Black marabou$19.80
- Silver Krystal Flash$11.85
- Black saddle hackle$47.80
- Dark olive chenille$17.70
- Black CDC$34.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · Materials only · 144 flies
$443.87
$3.08 a fly
Bought separately $504.40 · you save $60.53
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 9 more
Every item in this kit · 11 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$35
- Gold brass cone head$41
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$17.70
- Silver wire$13
Materials
- Black marabou$59.40
- Silver Krystal Flash$31.60
- Black saddle hackle$143.40
- Dark olive chenille$53.10
- Black CDC$104.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$216.80
$18.07 a fly
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 20 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$6.50
- Gold brass cone head$7.50
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$2.95
- Silver wire$3.25
Materials
- Black marabou$4.95
- Silver Krystal Flash$3.95
- Black saddle hackle$11.95
- Dark olive chenille$5.90
- Black CDC$13.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$311.84
$6.50 a fly
Bought separately $328.25 · you save $16.41
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 20 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$13
- Gold brass cone head$15
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$5.90
- Silver wire$6.50
Materials
- Black marabou$19.80
- Silver Krystal Flash$11.85
- Black saddle hackle$47.80
- Dark olive chenille$17.70
- Black CDC$34.75
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 8 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$575.87
$4 a fly
Bought separately $654.40 · you save $78.53
Includes 3XL streamer hook · Gold brass cone head · and 18 more
Every item in this kit · 20 items
Hooks & beads
- 3XL streamer hook$35
- Gold brass cone head$41
Thread & wire
- Black 6/0 thread$17.70
- Silver wire$13
Materials
- Black marabou$59.40
- Silver Krystal Flash$31.60
- Black saddle hackle$143.40
- Dark olive chenille$53.10
- Black CDC$104.25
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
How it was made
4 iterations led here; the saved one is marked
1
2
3
4 Saved
Remixes
2 steps back
- Mossback Olive Woolly Bugger@dekasso · the original
- Riverstone Black Woolly Buggeryou are here
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“the the longer hackle behind the cone head to cdc”
fly pattern · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- woolly bugger
- streamer
- black marabou
- gold bead
- leech
- baitfish
- trout
- olive chenille
- silver flash