A very popular pattern for fishing in lakes, rivers and at the coast. The Wooly Bugger is a true attractor pattern that trout many times find hard to resist. Many coastal fishermen use it when the bristle worms are swarming and mate, it's also very good as a silhouette fly during low light and evening fishing. In freshwater it can resemble a leech but are in most occations just a good attractor fly like in the sea.
The original Woolly Bugger pattern was believed to have been created by Pennsylvania fly tyer Russell Blessing as early as 1967 to resemble a hellgrammite, but its precise origin is unknown, but is clearly an evolution of the Woolly Worm that is said to have originated in the Ozarks as a bass fly. Its real popularity however came when Don Martinez, a West Yellowstone, Montana fly tier commercialized the pattern in the 1950s. The fly is a variation, intentional or not of the British palmer fly, which dates back to Walton and beyond.
