
Slim Bugger
A thin, lightly dressed bugger in the style long used at Henry's Lake, with a dubbed body, a thin marabou tail and small dry fly hackle. At Henry's Lake it works well on an intermediate line with a slow strip over the weed beds. Cheech leaves it unweighted because the fly moves better in the water that way. This version is brown, with a rusty brown tail and a plain brown body as options. Tied here on a size 10 hook.
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Materials
Fulling Mill FM1710 Nymph Special hook, size 10 (or TMC 5262, size 10)
10
Danville Flat Waxed Thread, 140 denier, brown (or dark brown)
Brown · 140 denier
Wooly Bugger Marabou, brown (or rusty brown)
Brown
Yard Bird Midge Dry Fly Saddle, brown
Brown
Fulling Mill Voodoo Streamer Dub, Dark Brown Copper UV (or brown)
Dark Brown Copper UV
How to Tie the Slim Bugger
- 1
Step 1
Mount the hook in the vise. Add no weight, so the fly stays free to move in the water.
- 2
Step 2
Start the brown thread behind the eye and wrap a base back to the bend.
- 3
Step 3
Tie in a small clump of brown marabou at the bend for the tail. Keep it sparse.
- 4
Step 4
Trim the marabou butts and cover the tie-in point with thread.
- 5
Step 5
Tie in a brown midge saddle feather at the bend and let it trail back over the tail for now.
- 6
Step 6
Apply a thin amount of Voodoo Streamer Dub to the thread and wrap it forward from the bend. Add more in small amounts as you work up to the eye.
Keep the dubbing light. A slim body is the point of this fly.
- 7
Step 7
Wrap the saddle feather forward over the dubbed body in open spirals, all the way up to the eye.
- 8
Step 8
Tie off the feather behind the eye and trim the excess.
- 9
Step 9
Hold the hackle fibers back out of the way and make a small thread head.
- 10
Step 10
Whip finish and trim the thread.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gW8Ynbyx2CA
Credit: Cheech / Fly Fish Food