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Royal Blue Blaze Woolly Bugger

by @dekasso

Royal Blue Blaze Woolly Bugger — a fly pattern by Dekasso

Tied for Boise River, Idaho

More by @dekasso

Woolly Bugger · Streamer

Blue and orange breathing in cold water

A beadhead Woolly Bugger in royal blue and orange on a size 8 streamer hook, stripped or swung for trout and bass.

A Woolly Bugger streamer with a full two-tone tail and a bright bead at the head. Royal blue chenille, orange palmered hackle, blue and orange marabou, pearl flash and a silver wire rib make up the fly.

Pattern
Woolly Bugger
Imitates
Leech and small baitfish
Hook
size 8
Tippet
3Xrule of three
  • Two-tone blue and orange marabou tail
  • Copper-orange bead for quick sink
  • Silver wire ribs the blue chenille
  • Palmered orange hackle along the body
  • Size 8 long-shank streamer hook

On the water

A streamer fly stripped through a deep green run

Royal blue chenille runs the shank under bands of silver wire. Orange hackle spirals over it, and a mixed tail of blue and orange marabou trails long, threaded with pearl flash. A copper-orange bead and a thin blue collar finish the head.

Cast it tight to a cut bank or across the tail of a deep run and let the bead pull it down. Strip it in short tugs with pauses, so the marabou pulses and the hackle fibres flare on every stop. It also swings well on a tight line through dark water.

Marabou for the tail goes in as two stacked clumps, blue under orange, tied in together and kept about one shank long. Measure before you lock it down, because a tail that runs long fouls around the hook bend on the cast.

A coiled leader, tippet spools and an open fly box on slate

Rigging

Tippet
3Xhook size divided by three
Leader
Nine feet, with fluorocarbon tippet to get it down
  • Use 2X to 3X tippet; a loop knot lets the tail move more freely.
  • Add a split shot or a sink-tip line to reach fish holding deep.
  • Vary the strip: short jerks with long pauses, then a steady slow pull.

Where and when

Hatch
Leech and small baitfish
Target
trout, bass
Water type
Deep runs, undercut banks, slow pools and stillwater
Also fishes
Also works in stained water after rain, on sinking lines in lakes, and swung slowly through cold winter runs.

Make it yourself

Beginner7 materials · 10 steps

Pattern
Woolly Bugger
Style
Streamer
Hook
3XL streamer hooksize 8
Thread
blue 6/0
Fly-tying materials laid out on a dark bench

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. Beadcopper-orange brass bead
  2. Tailblue and orange marabou
  3. Flashpearl Krystal Flash
  4. Ribsilver wire
  5. Bodyroyal blue chenille
  6. Hackleorange saddle hackle
  7. Headblue thread collar

Details

Colors
royal blue, orange, copper, silver
A fly-tying vise holding a bare hook on a wooden bench

How to tie it

The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
  1. Slide the copper-orange bead onto the hook, small hole toward the eye, and set the hook in the vise.
  2. Start the blue thread behind the bead and wrap a smooth base back to the bend.
  3. Tie in a clump of blue marabou at the bend, then a clump of orange on top, both about one shank length.
  4. Tie in four to six strands of pearl Krystal Flash along each side of the tail, trimmed just past the marabou tips.
  5. Tie in the silver wire at the bend and leave it hanging.
  6. Tie in the orange saddle hackle by its tip at the bend, shiny side forward.
  7. Tie in the royal blue chenille, advance the thread, and wrap the chenille forward in touching turns to just behind the bead.
  8. Palmer the orange hackle forward in five or six open turns and tie it off behind the bead.
  9. Counter-wrap the silver wire forward through the hackle to lock the stem, then tie off and trim.
  10. Build a neat blue thread collar behind the bead, whip finish and add a drop of head cement.
Proportions (4)
  • Tail: about one hook shank long, blue and orange together.
  • Flash: trimmed even with or just past the marabou tips.
  • Hackle: fibres roughly one and a half times the hook gap.
  • Body: chenille from bend to bead, leaving room for a thin thread collar.
Tips (4)
  • Wet the marabou before measuring; dry fibres fool the eye into a tail that is too long.
  • Stroke the hackle fibres back before each turn so none get trapped under the chenille.
  • Wrap the wire opposite to the hackle so it crosses the stem and adds strength.
  • Keep thread wraps flat under the tail to avoid a lump at the bend.
Common mistakes (4)
  • Tail too long and fouling on the cast: keep it at one shank length.
  • Crowding the bead: stop the chenille a few wraps short to leave room for the collar.
  • Hackle wrapped too densely: space turns evenly so the blue body still shows.
  • Wire wrapped the same way as the hackle: counter-wrap it or it will sink into the fibres.
A dozen-fly materials kit laid out on slate with its recipe card.
The kit

Every kit size

Materials only

Size 8 · Materials only · 12 flies

$52.90

$4.41 a fly

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 10 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$6.501 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$7.501 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Silver wire$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$4.951 pack
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$3.951 hank
  • Royal blue chenille$5.902 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$11.951 saddle pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · Materials only · 48 flies

$141.93

$2.96 a fly

Bought separately $149.40 · you save $7.47

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 10 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$132 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$152 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$11.804 spools
  • Silver wire$6.502 spools

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$19.804 packs
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$11.853 hanks
  • Royal blue chenille$17.706 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$47.804 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · Materials only · 144 flies

$367.71

$2.55 a fly

Bought separately $417.85 · you save $50.14

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 8 more

Every item in this kit · 10 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$411 × 100 + 2 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$35.4012 spools
  • Silver wire$134 spools

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$59.4012 packs
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$31.608 hanks
  • Royal blue chenille$53.1018 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$143.4012 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

With vise & tools

Size 8 · With vise & tools · 12 flies

$202.90

$16.91 a fly

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 19 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$6.501 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$7.501 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Silver wire$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$4.951 pack
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$3.951 hank
  • Royal blue chenille$5.902 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$11.951 saddle pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · With vise & tools · 48 flies

$284.43

$5.93 a fly

Bought separately $299.40 · you save $14.97

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 19 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$132 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$152 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$11.804 spools
  • Silver wire$6.502 spools

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$19.804 packs
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$11.853 hanks
  • Royal blue chenille$17.706 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$47.804 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · With vise & tools · 144 flies

$499.71

$3.47 a fly

Bought separately $567.85 · you save $68.14

Includes 3XL streamer hook · Copper-orange brass bead · and 17 more

Every item in this kit · 19 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3XL streamer hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 8
  • Copper-orange brass bead$411 × 100 + 2 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Blue 6/0 thread$35.4012 spools
  • Silver wire$134 spools

Materials

  • Blue and orange marabou$59.4012 packs
  • Pearl Krystal Flash$31.608 hanks
  • Royal blue chenille$53.1018 cards
  • Orange saddle hackle$143.4012 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

The creator

An illustrated portrait for Dekasso (an illustration, not a photograph)

Dekasso

@dekasso

Wherever the truck rolls to a stop.

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See everything by @dekasso

How it was made

1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked

  1. Iteration 1 of 11 Saved

Remixes

No remixes yet — make your own version.

Where this came from

“Create a wooly bugger in the colors of Boise state broncos”

fly pattern · made

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  • woolly bugger
  • streamer
  • beadhead
  • blue
  • orange
  • marabou
  • chenille
  • trout
  • bass
  • leech