Black Woolybugger by Zach Pittman

While the spelling of the bugger might never be the same the results fishing it most of the time is.  The bugger is truly a fly for every box and can be fished many different ways.  I was first turned onto it several years after catching my first trout on a fly on one of them tied in olive.  After that I finally learned how to tie them and add some of my own little touches to this great pattern.  The woolly bugger was created by a guy from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania back in 1967 by the name of Russell Blessing.  Although Blessing created it Barry Beck is the one who made the fly the popular success it is today!  Blessing created the bugger after a fascination with hellgrammites.  A bugger to me is kind of a smiggle fly which would be something that can catch fish at anytime.  It really represents so many things it could be a hellgrammite, a crayfish, a minnow, a nymph so many things on so many different days.  Its just another reason that makes it such a special fly.  The bugger can be fished as a streamer of it can be fished dead drift like a nymph.  Personally I prefer to fish it as a streamer!