Last month I mentioned fishing a Woolly Worm as part of a duo of flies that I consistently use when fishing lakes. I realized that there are a number of younger fly tiers and some older ones that have never tied or used a Woolly Worm. Almost everyone has heard of this fly’s modified cousin the Woolly Bugger, but I think it is a good idea to look at the original.
The Woolly Worm, or at least its progenitor, is old, like 1500s old. In the U.S. the modern version was a popular smallmouth bass fly in the Ozarks. It became nationally popular and commercialized by Dan Martinez in the 1950s.
This is a simple fly to tie. As such it is a great beginner fly and can teach the importance of proportion in regards to tail, body, and head. The joy of this fly as a learning tool is that the bad flies that aren’t as nice looking as you might like are still going to work. Use them on panfish, high mountain lake trout, or bass. Another thing about simple flies is that they inspire experimentation. One small change in the Woolly Worm, such as changing the tail from a short piece of yarn to a longer bunch of marabou led to arguably the most effective famous fly ever, the Woolly Bugger.
Don’t let yourself be limited by this basic recipe. Change the tail, change the body, use short stiff hackle, add a bead, add some flash, let your imagination run wild. One of the best bass I’ve caught hit a Woolly Worm that had a black calftail tail, silver body and black hackle. Have fun and catch some fish.
- Hook: Eagleclaw baitholder #6
- Thin lead or lead substitute
- Thread: Ultrathread black 140
- Tail: Red Rabbit clipped from a zonker strip
- Rib: Olive Ultrawire small
- Body: Olive/black chenille
- Hackle: Brown Grizzly neck
The thing to notice is that I left plenty of room at the head, and that I didn’t taper the tread up to the lead. Adding the tail and body will level out the body.
There’s the tail.
There’s the rib.
There’s the chenille. Make sure and strip the tip of the chenille so the thread base is exposed. Try not to use too many thread wraps or the butt of the fly will be bulkier than the rest of the fly.
Here’s the chenille wrapped to near the eye. Leave plenty of space at the head of the fly.
There’s the hackle. The picture angle makes it hard to see, but you want the dull side of the hackle facing rearward so that when you palmer it back the hackle naturally leans back towards the tail.
This is the only relatively tricky part of the fly. You palmer the hackle back and when you get to the tail you have to hold the hackle tight and counter-wrap the wire up through the hackle. Once you wrap the wire to the head, tie it off and build a small thread head.
Here’s the finished fly! As I am typing this today, I know that I am taking my grandson backpacking tomorrow into a backcountry lake, and we will fish this fly and I feel confident he will catch one of the lake’s beautiful cutthroat trout. Have fun, pass it on, pick up some trash on your way home.