Olive Beadhead Bugger
By Luc Desjarlais
I designed this multi-use fly a few years ago as a desperate attempt to catch steelheads during the spring spawning run in Northern Vermont without resorting to dunking sacks of eggs. Surprisingly, steelhead attacked it when they were refusing classic streamers. I soon test drove it on other fish and found that everything swimming was eagerly hitting it. This fly saved the day several times on trout, bass and landlocked salmon. I fish it both streamer style and nymph style. The bead head makes the fly search deep for those lunkers that would not otherwise bother to rise.
Being so polyvalent in freshwater, the saltwater career of the Olive Beadhead Bugger was a natural. That it was attacked by schoolie spotted sea trout and bluefish was not very surprising. Nor was I surprised by the effectiveness of the dock lights version. When it began to catch redfish in the white spots—when they were refusing other conventional flies—it got my attention. And whenI had two tailing reds in a row on it, I knew this fly was major league. Unsurprisingly, the fly was successful on shad. And while I was at it, it turned out to be one of the best things to show black crappie and other bluegills in the St. Johns and “Econ” Rivers.
Despite the use of stainless steel, the marabou will eventually cause the hook of this fly to rust. Check it regularly. In addition, the dye of the marabou tends to run. The fly should not be in direct contact with others when wet. These inherent shortcomings of the marabou are largely compensated by the fantastic action of the material in the water.
This fly is one of the most simple and easiest ties.
Materials
Hook:Mustad S71S SS (2X Heavy, 1X Long). I like the heavy hook as it acts like a keel and helps stabilizing the swim. It also helps the fly sink faster. Any saltwater hook will do, in bigger or smaller sizes. Size 8 seems the size of the prey (whatever it is) that this fly imitates in freshwater.
Thread:Danville’s Flat Wax Nylon, olive. Any strong thread in any color will do. The thread almost disappears in the finished fly.
HeadCyclops Bead, 3/16” Gold or Brass, or any substitute. Make sure the bead and hook bend are compatible (bead has to slide to the hook eye).
TailOlive Marabou.
AccentTan/Pearl Flashabou Accent, or any substitute.
Body:Olive Estaz Metallique chenille, or any substitute such as ice chenille.
1.Slide the bead on the hook. The smaller hole in the bead faces the hook eye. If the bead refuses to slide: pinch the barb; find a hook with a rounder bend; find a bead with a wider hole. Put the hook in the vise upright and horizontal. Start the thread at the beadand cover the hook shank to the bend.Pry loose one plume of marabou from the sewn patch. Pinch the tip and measure it at approximately 1.5 times the hook length. Tie it on top of the hook with a few tight turns of thread.
2.Cut the stub end of the marabou taper at the bead and cover with thread. If you moisten the marabou, it will handle better. Do not invest too much in this stage: the chenille will cover all this. A drop of glue (or head cement, or nail polish) on the tail mount will help stabilize it, prevent twisting in the next stages and, if you get some of the glue to run a bit on the marabou tail, it will go a long way in preventing it from fouling back around the hook when you fish it. Cut a few strands of Flashabou a little longer than the tail and tie them on top of the marabou as you return the thread to the bend.
3.Tie a second pinch of marabou on top of the first, cut taper at the bead and cover with thread, as in steps one and two above. Cut approximately four inches of Estaz. Strip one end and tie it on top of the tail as you return the thread to the bend. Note: sometimes there is a set in the Estaz. Learn to recognize it and tie it so the set will naturally brush toward the tail of the fly when you palmer it in the next step. Once the Estaz is well secured at the tail, return the thread to the bead.
4. Palmer (wind in loose turns) the Estaz toward the head, brushing it toward the tail with your fingers at each turn, to get a scale-like body (instead of a bad-hair-day one). Do not put pressure on the first few turns to avoid twisting the tail mount. You may wind from five to seven turns, depending on how tight you want it. Once you get to the bead, catch the Estaz with the thread and force it gently into the tapered hole of the bead with one or two turns.
5. Cut the stub end of Estaz. Wind a few more turns of thread and whip finish, working the thread into the cavity of the bead and on the hook shank. You may add a drop of glue, head cement or nail polish at the base of the bead to make it more secure. Do not splash serious stuff, such as Krazy Glue, on the bead as it may tarnish it. You may give the Estaz a hair cut to streamline the body. The fly is complete.
Variations
Being of the Wooly Bugger descent, the variations are almost infinite. Here are a few simple twists that you can give this fly.
Additional Weight: Of course, you can always use a tungsten cyclops bead to dramatically accelerate the sink rate. However, sometimes, just a little more is better. Simply twist lead-free round wire around the hook shank as shown. This stuff comes in four sizes. In theory, you could cover the entire hook shank, right up to (and inside) the bead. I prefer to keep the hook shank free for the tailand the head. After winding the wire, start the thread between the wire and the bead. This way, you can stabilize the wire exactly where you want it, barely clearing the bead. To wrap the thread over the wire without it digging between the turns, put the tag end of your thread on top of it.Tie the tail as in Step 1. However, instead of wrapping along the hook shank, cut the stub end square right at and against the wire twist. All the other steps are the same as on the preceding page.
Two-Tone Tail: Nothing wrong with that. However, be aware that the darker dye will likely run over the lighter marabou. You may fish the fly only once, but if it catches fish, why not? You can put the flash on top of the tail, for more effect. I do not recommend that you put it under the tail, as it will tend to wrap around the hook when fishing.
Two-Tone Estaz: Why not? Just palmer the two together. You can experiment mixing two different types of material and get a segmented body.
Hackle Collar: This is what you would do on the classic Wooly Bugger. If long and flexible is the goal, you may try schlappen (as illustrated). Otherwise, any hackle will do. Tie it just behind the bead, wind it a few turns on top of each other and whip finish it as in step five on the preceding page.
Docklighter Beadhead Bugger
For fishing the lighted docks at night, I adapt the Beadhead Bugger with:
•Alonger hook, for a longer fly (this is now a baitfish imitation) and to distance the hook point from the hook eye in case I hit bluefish, Spanish mackerel or snook;
•More flash, as is customary for night fishing;
•All white, also customary for night fishing.
This one is tied on a Mustad 34011, size 6. I added some round wire for a faster sink rate. I put a generous amount of pearl flashabou on top of the first clump of marabou. This flash material will sparkle and jiggle, giving the fly lots of action even as you just let it sink. A second bunch of flash is added on top of the second clump of marabou. This time I used Pearl Flashabou Accent. The body is wrapped in Pearl Standard Estaz. Ice chenille, Tinsel chenille, Cactus chenille, Krystal Flash chenille, etc. would all have done as well. The finished fly is not far from the famous and very effective Shminnow.
Small Water Olive Beadhead Bugger
I show Olive Beadhead Buggers to fish of all stripes, including brook trout in small (sometimes very small) streams. On this fly, I used a Targus 812 Size 10 hook, one of the smallest stainless steel hooks I could find. The bead is 5/32” brass. I also do it with a 1/8”, if and when I can slide it on the hook. I used stray pieces of olive marabou (that you would otherwise discard), in one single clump. This gives the tail a slightly different aspect. I do not put flash when fishing small waters.