Wooley bugger colors

Just getting started in fly fishing so please bear with me if my questions seem too basic.

Besides black, is there another wooley bugger color I might want to try for western washington lakes? My primary focus will be wading in the sound for src and coho. For the salt, I have a basic salt water collection of flies. I also happen to live about 10 minutes from lake meridian (Kent) which is open all year. I thought I would use the lake as a place to perfect my casting. My lake collection to date includes only black wooley buggers. I thought I might try some brown as well. Any other colors I might want to consider?

Thanks,
Rick

Olive is a good second color. You can also mix colors, too. Try a bugger with black tail and hackle and olive body. People have combined red and black. I have a bugger that has an "insect green" tail, wintermint(?) new-age chennille body, and olive barred schlappen hackle. This variation has proved worthy, having caught mostly browns and some rainbows.

You might also try tying mini-buggers. These are tied on smaller hooks. Instead of using chennille, after securing the tail with a couple thread wraps, you continue wrapping the hook shank forward with the marabou to form the body. There are actually several different ways of making mini-buggers, but that's the route I took to make mine.

2 other colors that are useful are olive which could depending on size be taken for many things and white which at times can be very productive.
tony

I usually carry them in white, brown, black, and olive. One of them will almost always work. Another great fly is the bow river bugger, I always have great success fishing them in lakes as an alternative to wooly buggers. Hope this helps.

Steven

Good Advice.
Always have an olive one available. Just as good as black.

Keith

Thanks to all of you. Color selection/price is not an issue so I can try all that were recommended.

Rick

After watching a guy pull fish after fish after fish out of a lake recently, I ask him (while we were putting our gear in our cars) what he'd been using. He showed me a wooley bugger with a very long black tail, red body, black hackle and silver mylar ribbing. That version has been added to my bugger box.

I usually use olive or black. if you tie you can mix it up by adding some crystal flash or i like to put some peacock hearl in, sometimes a little extra can be the difference.

I also have had a bit of luck with the black and red

oh yeah, purple or purple and black are two other good choices

I think I've seen a variation of that. Red tail, black body and hackle, and silver ribbed. I've seen alot of fish taken on it, but I've never tied any up...
-Ethan

iagreeiagreeiagreeiagreeiagree

My favorite

My two favorite lake buggers are:
-ginger body with black hackle, black marabou and a conehead
-Peacock body, brown hackle, stacked olive, brown and black marabou and a gold bead.

Of course I'm fishing these in south cental Alaska so things might be different down there but I think contrast, stiff hackle to push water, and coneheads/beads are universal fish catchers.

The Minni Lake Special is popular here in BC .
Tail : maroon marabou , with a few strands of red or black crystal flash
Body : maroon chenille
Hackle : Grizzly
Bead : optional

I'm intrigued. Where were you fishing? Was it a bright red or more of a maroon? Also, any idea what it's supposed to imitate or is it just an attractor?

Thanks,
-Q

Olive, Black, Brown, Maroon, and White. You can combine these colors too. You can't go wrong with any of these colors. I have found that some colors work better at times, but all of them have produced well consistantly. Good luck.

Cady. Bright red.

Thanks, Ron! :thumb:

I tied up a few red and black ones. I'll give them a try. I also use purple and black they seem to work well. My favorite and most productive seems to be olive with with light brown hackle palmered. Probably represents damsel fly nymph.

Keith

On the mini-buggers how small are you talking? 10, 12, smaller?

Thanks,

Otis28