Woolley worm wet fly

[Scratch]

Does any one fish the Woolley worm pattern on pa. N.E. streams that really work? I have been looking to go back to the basics in my old age and I'm looking for some good patterns so I thought I would come here to try to save some time. I would appreciate any advice offered. Thank you.

 

[afishinado]

Scratch wrote:
Does any one fish the Woolley worm pattern on pa. N.E. streams that really work? I have been looking to go back to the basics in my old age and I'm looking for some good patterns so I thought I would come here to try to save some time. I would appreciate any advice offered. Thank you.

When I first started to fly-fish (in NE PA btw), I tied and fished wooly worms all the time. It was/is a simple pattern to tie and it caught fish...lots of 'um, especially trout and panfish.

Here is a bunch of pics of the wooly worm. It's just a wooly bugger minus the marabou tail. Often a short piece of red yarn is used for the tail.

You can use any color chenille for the body, but one of the most popular ways to tie it back in-the-day was with a peacock herl body, palmered grizzly hackle, and a red yarn butt. Use a standard wet fly or nymph hook and add lead wire for weight if you wish.



Good luck tying and fishing.

 

[pete41]

use to use a double cast of ww's in Montana back when they still stocked rainbows-also double cast of muddler minnows wet fly style at times-man did I nail them--thought I was a born natural--caught many doubles-then they stopped stocking--back to the drawing board--WW's not a first choice fly for resident trout in my experience..

 

[troutbert]

Good fly.

Especially if you add a marabou tail.

;-)

 

[pete41]

troutbert wrote:
Good fly.

Especially if you add a marabou tail.

;-)

yep-whole new ball game.
so why did it take a hundred years or so to realize that?lol

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
Good fly.

Especially if you add a marabou tail.

;-)

God Bless ....Russ Blessing...

 

[Fly-Swatter]

Nice article, Afish. Thanks for sharing it.

 

[nfrechet]

long before the bugger or the worm was the soldier palmer

http://www.classicflytying.com/index.php?showtopic=39821

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/wworm.htm

http://stevenojai.tripod.com/woolly_bugger.htm

 

[Tigereye]

I like the old wooly worm. I use it occasionally when nymphing. Lehigh river fish like size 10 with peacock body furnace hackle and a red tail tied with hen hackle fibers tied short.

Another variation that is good for stocked fish a silver tinsel body, grizzly hackle and the same red hen hackle fibers.

If you fish McMichals Pocono or Broadhead, those fish seem to have a penchant for a bright green body, grizzly hackle and tail. Use floss body here.

I really don't like chenille on these flies but YMMV.