How to Use a Woolly Bugger When Fly Fishing

Fly fishermen tend to agree that the woolly bugger lure is one of the best for catching the big ones. The woolly bugger is a big lure, and there are a variety of ways it can be cast and presented to the fish.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Dead drift the bugger by adding a few jerking actions. Use the bugger for larger fish like lake trout and steelhead salmon. Arctic char, bluegill, northern pike and even carp have found this lure hard to resist. However you chose to fish this lure, it can't be fished wrong. Crawling, creeping, darting, floating and sinking are just some of the ways you can present the wooly bugger.
2. Weigh down the woolly bugger by using either a split-shot, a bead or a cone head on the front of the shank of your rod to produce a bouncing action. When the lures land on the bottom of the lake, use a stop-and- go action. This also is called a rise-and-fall or yo-yo action.
3. Produce a "breathing" action to the lure by using a slow stop-and-go motion on retrieve. Place a few BBs ahead of the lure to really turn the fish on. When casting with this method, cast upstream and across the current.
4. Produce a swimming action, focusing on the marabou on the tail of the woolly bugger. This helps to imitate swimming bait such as larva, tadpoles or leeches to hungry fish. Put a bit of glimmer on the lure to make sure the fish see the bait.
5. Imitate smaller fish when the water is low and near a steep drop off such as a waterfall. This action replicates the movement of a little fish that has been stunned by a steep landing. Cast and let the lure drift. Use a quick jerking action followed by a quick retrieve.
6. Devise different actions according to the water conditions. Slow action is recommended on small creeks or rivers. A faster action is recommended on lakes.

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