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Gilded Olive Woolly Bugger Streamer

by @troutslayerunicorn

Gilded Olive Woolly Bugger Streamer — a fly pattern by Hit the Hatch

Tied for Owyhee River, Oregon

More by @troutslayerunicorn

Woolly Bugger · Streamer

Polished brass cutting down through cold current

A fast-sinking streamer tied with segmented gold brass beads and olive marabou on a size 8 hook for trout and bass.

An olive Woolly Bugger streamer built with six polished gold beads along the hook shank. A plume of olive marabou forms the tail, framed by palmered olive hackle fibers.

Pattern
Woolly Bugger
Imitates
Leech
Hook
size 8
Tippet
3Xrule of three
  • Six gold brass beads provide fast sink
  • Soft olive marabou tail breathes on pauses
  • Palmered olive hackle adds pulsing lifelike motion
  • Tied on a sturdy size 8 hook

On the water

A streamer fly stripped through a deep green run

Six brass beads reflect ambient river light along the length of the shank. The soft olive marabou tail breathes with every twitch, while the palmered olive collar flares against moving water.

Dead-drift this streamer into deep tailouts or swing it across seamlines where current quickens. Short, sharp strips drop and raise the heavy brass abdomen over cobble riverbeds.

Palmering the hackle demands steady thread tension between each metal bead. Seat the stem deep into the groove between beads so the barbs splay outward without slipping.

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
  • Rig on a 3X or 4X fluorocarbon tippet with a non-slip mono loop for maximum wobble.
  • Count the fly down near bottom structure before starting short, irregular strips.
  • Dead-drift under an indicator through deep winter slots where currents run heavy.

Where and when

Hatch
Leech
Target
Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass
Water type
Deep pools, pocket water, and stillwater drop-offs
Also fishes
Submerged weed edges and steep boulder drop-offs in windy lake bays.

Make it yourself

Intermediate4 materials · 8 steps

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

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. BeadGold brass beads 3.2mm, six count
  2. TailOlive marabou
  3. HackleOlive saddle hackle
  4. HeadOlive tying thread

Details

Colors
Olive, Gold
A fly-tying vise holding a bare hook on a wooden bench

How to tie it

The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (8)
  1. Slide six gold brass beads onto the hook shank and push them forward against the eye.
  2. Secure the hook in the vise and attach the olive tying thread directly behind the rearmost bead.
  3. Measure a bunch of olive marabou so the plume matches the hook shank in length.
  4. Tie in the marabou tail securely just behind the rearmost bead and trim the butt ends.
  5. Tie in the tip of an olive saddle hackle directly behind the rearmost bead.
  6. Advance the tying thread forward to the hook eye, weaving between each bead to form secure tie-off points.
  7. Wrap the hackle forward, taking one turn between each bead and two turns behind the eye.
  8. Tie off the hackle securely at the hook eye, build a neat thread head, and apply head cement.
Proportions (3)
  • Tail length equals the length of the hook shank.
  • The six gold beads occupy four-fifths of the shank length.
  • Hackle fibers extend roughly one-and-a-half to two times the hook gap.
Tips (2)
  • Use thread wraps between the beads to create small anchor points before winding the hackle forward.
  • Select marabou with fine, webby tips to maximize action on slow retrieves.
Common mistakes (2)
  • Crowding the eye with the first bead makes tying off the hackle and thread difficult; leave a slight gap.
  • Wrapping hackle too tightly across the beads can cause the stem to slide off the slick metal curves.
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

$39.80

$3.32 a fly

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 5 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$6.501 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$7.501 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$2.951 spool

Materials

  • Olive marabou$4.951 pack
  • Olive saddle hackle$11.951 saddle pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · Materials only · 48 flies

$107.68

$2.24 a fly

Bought separately $113.35 · you save $5.67

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 5 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$132 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$152 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$11.804 spools

Materials

  • Olive marabou$19.804 packs
  • Olive saddle hackle$47.804 saddle packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 8 · Materials only · 144 flies

$281.73

$1.96 a fly

Bought separately $320.15 · you save $38.42

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 5 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$411 × 100 + 2 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$35.4012 spools

Materials

  • Olive marabou$59.4012 packs
  • Olive 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

$189.80

$15.82 a fly

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 14 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$6.501 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$7.501 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$2.951 spool

Materials

  • Olive marabou$4.951 pack
  • Olive 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

$250.18

$5.21 a fly

Bought separately $263.35 · you save $13.17

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 14 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$132 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$152 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$11.804 spools

Materials

  • Olive marabou$19.804 packs
  • Olive 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

$413.73

$2.87 a fly

Bought separately $470.15 · you save $56.42

Includes 3X-long streamer hook · Gold brass beads 3.2mm · and 14 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • 3X-long streamer hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 8
  • Gold brass beads 3.2mm, six count$411 × 100 + 2 × 25

Thread & wire

  • Olive 6/0 thread$35.4012 spools

Materials

  • Olive marabou$59.4012 packs
  • Olive 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 Hit the Hatch (an illustration, not a photograph)

Hit the Hatch

@troutslayerunicorn

I am Hit the Hatch!

  • Spring Olive Mayfly Dry Fly — a fly pattern by Hit the Hatch
  • Owyhee Christmas Zebra Midge — a fly pattern by Hit the Hatch

See everything by @troutslayerunicorn

How it was made

2 iterations led here; the saved one is marked

  1. Iteration 1 of 21
  2. Iteration 2 of 22 Saved

Remixes

Remixed from

  1. Mossback Olive Woolly Bugger — a fly pattern by DekassoMossback Olive Woolly Bugger@dekasso · the original
  2. Gilded Olive Woolly Bugger Streameryou are here

No remixes yet — make your own version.

Where this came from

“but have the body also wrapped with green hackle as is common with wooly bugger but don't leads the beads”

fly pattern · made

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  • streamer
  • olive
  • gold
  • bugger
  • bead
  • marabou
  • hackle
  • trout
  • bass