.Back to Index

Zug Bug

Tied by Jeff

Recipe

Hook Targus (Tiemco) 5262 2X long Size:14  Daiichi 1710 nymphs
Head 3/32 copper bead
Tail 2-3 Peacock swords
Ribbing small oval silver tinsel
Body 3-4 Peacock herls
Hackle almost a inch of barbs, beard style
Wing Mallard flank, colored brown  flank dyed wood duck, turkey quill (clipped)
Thread Black 8/0
Source The majority of the pattern is from Steve Probasco on http://www.flyanglersonline.com. Key in lug Bug on the site's search window. I used the instructions for#274.This site included step by step photos and overall is a good source. I also found pictures and recipes on love-new-hampshire.com and utahonthefly.com.
Fishing I'm currently fishing ponds and doing a painfully slow crawl. If not taken on the fall, I'll do a slow crawl for a few inches and pause. Mix in short darts with the crawls and pauses. Let the fish tell you what presentation they want.
Do overs:
.t seems long compared to Mr. Probasco picture but I didn't have the Daiichi hooks on hand. I might try a 1X as well as more sizes. Often it's not the colors as it sizes that seem to trigger strikes. I think including the weight would have resulted in meatier body and made it more of a bottom of the stream nymph in faster water. I also forgot to wrap the body herl with the tying thread before wrapping the body (no fished fly lasts forever). I could have also overwrapped the herl, after it had been tied off, with the tying thread. I didn't have any brown dyed Mallard flank so I mottled it with a light tan Sharpie marker. After tying in the quill by the bottom of the quill, I trimmed the tip side so it looks like a shallow pitched roof. It should end up looking like a triangle but the tip side of the material is a small point and not a straight cut across. This is what I've seen in the fly shops but I suppose you could do a V cut to the quill to imitate wings a different way. One mallard feather did several flys. For durability, you could also treat the dull side of the wing with Krylon's Workable Fixatif (#1306). I do this with turkey and pheasant feathers but never thought about doing it with a flank feather used as a wing case.

Good luck with it. If it doesn't work for you, it can one of the flys you give another fly fisher person when you meet them on the water.