CFF President Dave Kilhefner has announced that the July 24th fish-a-long will be at various Mt. Hood area lakes.
One of the more effective fly patterns you should have in your stilllwater arsenal is the Seal Bugger, a fly that was developed by Denny Rickards over 30 years ago. Denny is a noted stillwater fly fisherman on his home waters of Upper Klamath Lake in southern Oregon where he developed the Seal Bugger.
Denny thought that he could improve on the longtime favorite versatile fly that we know as the Wooly Bugger. By altering the materials and construction he came up with a fly that is famous for enticing trophy trout which is quite evident if you have ever watched any of his videos or presentations. The Seal Bugger looks much like a classic Wooly Bugger except Rickards’ version uses seal fur (or a substitute) dubbing instead of chenille for the body. Other differences include a reduction in the amount of marabou in the tail and also a reduction in the amount of hackle wraps on the body.
The Seal Bugger can be tied in many color variations. Denny’s own website lists 12 different combinations of tail, body, and hackle colors. Tied usually in sizes 8 and 10 and fished on intermediate sink lines the Seal Bugger is a must-have fly for your arsenal when you are heading out to stillwater fishing locations.
I once saw a list that Denny Rickards made of the flies that he would use if he was only allowed to fish with six flies for the rest of his life. The Seal Bugger was number one on the list!
Dave Kilhefner mentioned to me that Lane Hoffman had been tying seal buggers on euro nymph jig hooks and that they were “awesome”. In verifying that with Lane, he says that he has been tying them on jig hooks and “they have been very effective!”. So I would say that it would be interesting to experiment with wooly buggers compared to seal buggers, compared to jig hook seal buggers. Tie up some of each in your favorite colors and report back to the rest of us about which works best. They are probably fished best with intermediate sink lines, varying the depth and retrieve until you find the right combination.
SEAL BUGGER RECIPE
(for both the Lane Hoffman and Denny Rickards versions)
Hook: For Lane Hoffman’s version use a size 12 or 14 euro nymph jig hook with a 60 degree bend; (For Denny Rickard’s version use a Tiemco 5263, or Mustad 9672, or Daiichi 1720, size 8,10)
Weight: For Lane’s version use a 7/64 or 1/8 inch black slotted tungsten bead; (for Denny’s version use 20 wraps .020 lead).
Tail: marabou (fluffy fibers from the side of the marabou feather will give more movement); tied more sparse than wooly bugger; color of choice (Lane prefers olive); add 2 strands pearl flashabou or flash of choice;
Body: Simi Seal, or equivalent (angora with ice dub); color of choice (Lane prefers olive)
Hackle: 4 wraps saddle hackle; undersized compared to wooly bugger; color of choice (Lane prefers olive or orange)
Rib: small copper wire
SEAL BUGGER TYING INSTRUCTIONS
(for both the Lane Hoffman and Denny Rickards versions)
- For Lane’s jigged version, place the slotted bead onto the hook and
secure it with thread wraps. - For Denny’s standard seal bugger, wind 20 wraps of .020 lead wire
around shank of hook. The wraps should start about one to two hook
eye’s width behind the eye of the hook. Secure the lead with numerous
thread wraps.
*** Steps 3-12 are the same for both Lane’s jigged seal bugger and Denny
Rickards standard seal bugger. - Tie in a marabou tail, making it a bit more sparse than for a wooly
bugger. - Add one piece of pearl flashabou to each side of the tail.
- Tie in a piece of copper wire for ribbing at the base of the tail. Leave it
hanging out back of the fly. - Tie in the saddle hackle feather by the tip at the base of the tail. Leave it
hanging out the back of the fly.
***(Prepare your dubbing material at this time.) - Form about a 5 inch dubbing loop at the base of the tail. Wind your
bobbin to the front. - Load the dubbing loop sparsely with dubbing material and spin the loop
tight. Wrap the loaded dubbing loop forward, forming the body of the fly.
Anchor it with thread wraps at the front. - Wind the hackle forward, making four wraps of the hackle. Anchor the
hackle at the front of the fly with wraps of thread. - Counterwrap the copper wire ribbing forward, taking care to move the
wire back and forth to miss the hackle fibers. Anchor the wire with
thread wraps at the front of the fly. - Whip finish and add head cement.
- Pick out body hair fibers with a bodkin, brush, or velcro. Take care to
not damage the hackle.
