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Woolly BuggerStreamerbeginner

Great Lakes

Woolly Bugger

$4.50

Available Sizes#6 - #12
Color Variations
BlackOliveWhiteBrownBlack/Crystal

If you could only fish one fly pattern for the rest of your life, experienced anglers would tell you to pick the Woolly Bugger, and they would be right. It looks like everything and nothing. A leech? Sure. A minnow? Why not. A drowned caterpillar having a bad day? Absolutely. It is the fly pattern that refuses to specialize and is rewarded for it with universal effectiveness.

Quick Facts

TypeStreamer
Difficultybeginner
SeasonsSpring, Summer, Fall, Winter
Target SpeciesBrown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Steelhead
Sizes#6 - #12
Best LocationsAu Sable River, MI; Manistee River, MI; Brule River, WI

Where to Fish It

Au Sable River

MI · Freestone River

Manistee River

MI · Freestone River

Brule River

WI · Freestone River

Map unavailable. Locations for Woolly Bugger: Au Sable River, MI; Manistee River, MI; Brule River, WI

Related Reading

hatch guide

The Hex Hatch: After Dark on the Great Lakes

The Hex hatch is the defining event of Great Lakes fly fishing — a massive emergence of North America's largest mayfly that happens after dark and brings the biggest brown trout of the year to the surface. This is how to prepare for, find, and fish the most anticipated hatch in the Midwest.

technique

After Dark: The Night Fishing Guide

The largest brown trout in any river feeds almost exclusively at night. The biggest smallmouth in your favorite river moves into the shallows after dark. And the redfish on the marsh flat feed through the night on every tide. Night fishing is where trophy hunters go when they get serious — here's how to join them.

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Every Fly Has a River · Every River Has a Tier

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