Hi Ronan: Take this with a grain of salt as I'm apparently one of the few people who don't have any luck catching fish with woolly buggers. And for all of you snickering out there, I don't catch anything on Clousers either. I do carry some buggers on occasion, three in particular..White River Demon, Chili Pepper and the Catskill Killer. All are tied 5-6 inches long. I'm influenced by salt water patterns. So the bulk of my streamer/baitfish patterns are tied with artificial hair. The closest things I tie using natural materials are these. _http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/gallery4544154a1aca7.jpg_ (http://www.flytyingforum.com/uploads/gallery4544154a1aca7.jpg) The two on the have a name but I can't think of it off the top of my head. The tail is just saddle hackle and flash, the body schapplen(sp?)wrapped down the shank. The one on the top right is what passes for a woolly bugger in my box. I tie it from 3 to 9 inches long depending where and what I'm fishing for. I've dubbed it a Spey Fleye. Tail is bucktail, flash and saddle hackle, body tied alternating two or three wraps of Estaz and three or four wraps of Spey hackle. The bottom right is a Bucktail Deceiver. I tie them small enough to be used in the local streams for trout and large enough to use in lakes for bass, muskie and pike and in salt water. As far as fishing them, in streams I'll cast up and retrieve it across the current. I'll cast up and let the fly drift and tumble like an injured baitfish, especially if I'm working the top of a pool/run. I'll feed out line if I have to, and then tighten the line so the fly swings across the bottom of the pool/run, and then strip it back to me. I seldom fish them in tandem. When I do I'll have the streamer behind a nymph or smaller streamer, trying to create the illusion of a small fish chasing prey, or a larger fish chasing a smaller fish. In lakes, depends on what I'm fishing for or how deep I want to fish. Three of the flies in the picture I posted are tied with weed guards. I'll fish them on a floating line if I want to retrieve on top or just under the surface over weeds or weed beds, otherwise I'll use an intermediate sinking line, to retrieve through the weeds or weed bed. I also use the intermediate line if I want fish in water 5 to 10 feet deep. Deeper than that I use a sink tip or full sinking line, especially if I want to cover the bottom of the water column. As far as the retrieve. I'll do anywhere from a slow steady retrieve to as fast as I can strip with both hands. One thing I like to do especially on the slower retrieves is to work my rod tip while stripping. It gives the fly an erratic motion. Having probably violated every rule associated with streamer fishing I'll turn it over to those who know what they're talking about. Jerry C "All things considered, I'd rather be in Philadelphia."
In a message dated 4/9/2007 10:11:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: Howdy folks...........its been a while since Ive posted. Been lurking just not posting. Well, it is summer time here at long last and I promised myself that I would give teh streamer fishing a go. Can I ask all of ye out there that partake in teh a bit o' streamer fishing how I should approach it and possibly what flies to start with. Are wooly buggers all they are cracked up to be? I would be especially interested in an European take on things but most definatly ROW feedback also. Thanks in advance and I hope this mail finds ye well. Ronan Mac. Ireland. ____________________________________ _All New Yahoo! Mail_ (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/mail/uk/taglines/default/nowyoucan/spamguard/*http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=40565/*http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowy oucan.html) – Tired of unwanted email come-ons? Let our SpamGuard protect you. ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com
