Pumpkin Bugger

Pumpkin Bugger

Hook: Size 8 Partridge Piggyback

Eyes: Medium Lead Dumbbell Unpainted

Tail: Black Hareline Wooly Bugger Marabou

Hackle: Black Whiting Dry Fly Hackle

Body: Burnt Orange Hareline Ice Dub


Note: I prefer to tie my wooly buggers with stiffer dry fly hackle because
I feel it gives my fly a buggier look but it is solely personal preference. I got the color combo from Greg Ponte of Maine while helping out at a Trout Unlimited youth camp which is also where the name derives from. Another strong aspect of the fly is the curved piggyback hook with dumbbell eyes. Not only will this cause the fly to ride hook point up and snag less, the dumbbell eyes will cause the fly to rise and fall differently when stripped than a beaded or cone-head bugger. It is this simple change in movement that gets strikes from fish who see wooly buggers in their face day in and day out. Tied in a size 8 here, I have great success fishing them as small as size 16 and dead drifting them like a nymph and swinging them in the current then fishing them like a streamer. Arguably the most versatile fly ever for trout fishing.