Beadhead Fritz Woolly Bugger

[nkula_nkula]

Beadhead Fritz Woolly Bugger

Materials

Hook: 6# or 8# streamer hook (I use Grip 13812 )
Tail: Marabou of choice colour
Flash: Two strands of Flashabou or suitable substitute
Bead: 4mm brass or tungsten
Body: Cactus chenille medium in colour of choice
Thread: Colour to match (Olive) UTC 140

Assume right-handed tyer.

1. De-barb hook and slide bead of choice onto hook-shank. Start thread and build base of thread into back of bead-head. Use your thumb and first finger to guide thread into the cavity of the bead. This will ensure the bead never rotates and slip down the hook (ruining the fly). A bit of superglue can be added to the thread head to secure the bead in place. Wind thread in touching turns, stop before you reach an imaginary point above the hook point. By tying in the tail further forward than normal, you minimize the amount of short takes and save cactus chenille body material and tying time.



2. You can include a loop of 4.5kg mono to act as guard to prevent the marabou tail wrapping around the hook while fishing (deer hair can be tied in to achieve the same effect) and as an "eye" or anchor point for tippet if you wish to fish a new Zealand style rig point fly. Make sure that the mono is tied in all the way up to the bead to ensure an smooth body as per the picture(you don't want a bump at the tail).



3. Tie in a long marabou tail, pinch off (do not cut with scissors, it looks unnatural) any fibres that are too long. It is important to have a long tail, as when fished with a jerky retrieve, the tail kicks convincingly and is a trigger that I believe makes this pattern so irresistible.



4. Catching the butt ends of the tail fibres, wind the thread as far forward as possible to ensure an even body.



5. Tie in two strands of flashabou or substitute material. The most efficient way is the following:

a) Take two strands of flashabou around the thread as per the picture.



b) Catch both ends of the flashabou with your thumb and forefinger as per the photo below (this is a bit tricky and takes a little bit of practice).



c) Wind the thread towards the tail using your left hand to position the flashabou each side of the hook shank.



d) Flashabou tied in perfectly on each side (a useful time-saving trick).

[nkula_nkula]

6. Select Cactus Chenille (Fritz) of choice colour. Medium is by far the best size. I am using pearl for this fly. I tie my bodies in a variety of colours including olive, root beer, orange, pink, and black.



7. Strip some of the flashy fibres from the cactus chenille and tie in at the tail. Wind the thread forward to the bead.



8. Wind the cactus chenille forward in touching turns, stroking the fibres back after each wrap. It is very important that you stroke the flashy fibres backwards otherwise they get trapped by the following wrap and make the body fat and uneven. Once you reach the head, tie off and whip finish. I personally don’t mind having the thread visible behind the bead and I take a few extra wraps to ensure the cactus chenille never comes out. Varnish head. I also like to trim the underside of the cactus chenille to ensure the maximun possible hook gap and increase the odds of a good hook-set.



This pattern has proved itself over the last seven years and I never go on a fishing trip without a selection in my flybox. I have had remarkable success at Lakenvlei with this pattern fished on a floating line. Because there is no hackle, the pattern has a fast sink rate. You can fish it “static” or with a jerky strip retrieve. To get the most out of this pattern, it should be attached to your leader with a non-slip mono loop (link to the knot on main page http://www.flytalk.co.za/readArticle.php?p_id=28). On a jerky strip retrieve, the combination of a long soft tail, no hackle and the bead (weight) in the front ensures that the fly has a jigging action and the tail “kicks” irresistibly. Combined with the flashy body, these triggers make this an irresistible attractor pattern.

Some more pics:

One of my boxes....


Variations of the pattern, notice the taper to which the body is trimmed and the unobstructed hook gape.

.....

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[Chris Shelton]

Great effort Liam! Thanks a lot!

You say you've had success fishing it statically? How,.. lying on the bottom?

[nkula_nkula]

Great effort Liam! Thanks a lot!

You say you've had success fishing it statically? How,.. lying on the bottom?

Thanks chris

I fish it "static" with a floating line and long leader. It works really well at Lakies, as the wind is pretty much always blowing and by saying "static" I mean no retrieve.

Just cast it out and let it sit in deep water (off the bottom). The wave action moves the fly line up and down as each peak and trough (of the waves) pass the end of the floating flyline, this causes the fly to "bounce/kick/jig/move up and down or however else you want to describe the action". The wind also causes the flyline to "swing" as I usually cast across the wind so even though I am fishing it static, it is still actually moving and if the wind is strong, then its actually moving quite fast.

Its really exciting fishing, you watch the end of your flyline for any hesitation.

Hope this explains it........

[Chris Shelton]

Got it! Makes perfect sense, thanks Liam!

[Pheasant Tail Nymph]

Liam, wow! I am amazed at the excellent thought that you put into this pattern. I really enjoyed the useful tips and how you explained the reason for what you're doing.

Once again, excellent! And thank you!

Regards,
PTN

[Michael]

Nice sequence Liam, and a good fly. I like the mono loop to prevent the marabou from wrapping around the tail, very nice idea.
Well done, Bwana!

Mike

[MyWorld]

Man, some nice patterns comming out lately!

Thanks for sharing!

[Rendier]

Good work Liam. Just got myself a Di5 for Lakies, but the floating line seems a better call.

[nkula_nkula]

Good work Liam. Just got myself a Di5 for Lakies, but the floating line seems a better call.

Thanks Rendier

I would definitely take a DI5 with, if you are fishing competitively and the wind blows at lakies you will need it.

A floating line is generally my first choice of line.

Regards
Liam