Thanks. If the fish are in the right mood there is not much better than a bugger. I have found that even in tough conditions I can usually get a bite on these.
Good simple pattern easy to tie and don’t have to worry about going through a bunch of them. Used this last year at the dsr and the salmon definitely will strike this fly. Came back to your channel this year to refresh on the tying process, thank you for sharing!
I got through a ton of these buggers in a day at the Salmon River! They are really the only fly I use up there and they get crushed by salmon every trip! Good luck this year!
Great video,believe for salmon is the K.I.S.S. ( keep it simple stupid) principles,I started tying my buggers for salmon on shanks,can change hook size,riding up or down & if bent put can replace rather than lose the fly & added a fluorescent green or pink butt just looks cool,tight lines & bent reels 🤙
Thanks for posting these videos. Question: which brand and model fly tying vise do you recommend? Last fall I was introduced to the Salmon river (NY), which has led me to dig out my fly tying equipment that I last used over 30 years ago. In starting to tie some new patterns, I quickly remembered my frustration with the cheap starter vise that came with the kit I purchased. Also, aside from the Wooly Bugger, what other patterns do you recommend for Spring Steelhead and Browns? Thanks in advance.
The Salmon River is an awesome place with world class fishing! Enjoy! I use the Renzetti Traveler Vise: amzn.to/2VuLOB2 I use wooly buggers, egg imitations and pink squirmies almost exclusively for salmon, steelhead and browns. Steelhead love pink squirmies! I have a fly tying video for that one too. ruclips.net/video/vKApBiLErL4/видео.html
You definitely could but to be honest these flies don't last long. I had a box that was literally FULL of these flies and after a great day on the river yesterday there are almost none left!!! So I don't bother with details. It just isn't worth the time for me with this particular fly. If you were going to use it for trout where they might last a lot longer then it would definitely help to do the counter wrap. I probably went through 50 flies yesterday and I had 2 that had hackle unravel after a fight with fish.
I absolutely love your videos. I’ve fly fished for Kings up in Michigan and it’s a blast. I have a large Lamison Reel but since I’m going back up there next year which rod weight and length would you recommend?
Thank you! I love switch rods for salmon and steelhead. For salmon I use a Redington Dually. I think it is 11'6" or close to it and it is an 8wt. If you haven't seen it already I go through my whole salmon setup in this video. ruclips.net/video/UHTWkr0L1Nw/видео.html
So I was reading the regulations and came upon this: "Artificial flies with no more than 1/8 oz. of added weight may be used." Has this affected your fishing at all there? Have you just added less weight onto the fly?
No. 1/8oz is really heavy for a fly. I have a micro scale I use for weighing the flies I tie and even my heaviest flies don't come close to that. 1/8oz is 3543 milligrams. My heaviest flies are 1200 milligrams and most are lighter.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I like flies that are easy to tie and expendable, they catch more fish in my opinion. You don't worry so much about casting near trees and snags, which is usuall;y where the fish are.
I wanna tie some better flies for the salmon River this year but I have trouble with hook sizes. I tied good bit last year of I just bright egg patterns but have to use such heavy hooks to prevent then from bending or snapping. I feel like these are undersized even tho I have seen you videos they just don't look heavy enough to me an I worry bout tying a ton of then to find out they aren't gonna work
I have found that the smaller hooks are less likely to bend out as they have more leverage to bend a bigger hook with a longer shank. I have also found that I don't need to tie big flies for salmon... they take the smaller flies just as well and when the fish are pressured the smaller flies fish much better. Having said that I still do bend some hooks out and have struggled to find the perfect hook. I just bought some jig style hooks from Firehole that I was going to tie my sexi stones on but they would be great for the smaller size buggers too. I don't have those hooks in front of me though...
Nice video mate! I was wondering if you tried indicator nymphing for salmon? I was thinking of trying some on my centrepin, I dont wish to floss or snag them ,I was wondering if you had any inputs on it, wish more anglers pursued these fish without the presumption that they don't bite, we would have a lot less lunacy and a lot more fun on the rivers. I have seen them come up and take skien chunks! Only difference between centrepin float fishing a fly vs fly gear would be that we always have a tight line to the float and we slow down the presentation to match the speed of the bottom current and ofcourse the fly is presented first , and since we that this direct contact we can impart small twitches/taps for minute movements we can also make the fly raise or fall depending on how much we hold back/ slow the reel.
I have done very little indicator nymphing for salmon but the technique you described will almost never foul or floss a salmon. I think what you describe would be really effective for salmon that are willing to bite!.. especially if you already have centrepin experience!
Its definitely a great way to present the bait with the same speed and as everything else in that water column, and works great on feeding fish, I just don't know if the Salmon would hit such naturally drifting /dead drifting presentation or ignore it like rest of the stuff/food drifting by it. I will try to add a few twitches if the salmon ignore my dead drift. I was also thinking of using scent as these fish smell in parts per billion and can difference between water from different streams . The scent might help them zone in on the fly /be aware of its presence before they actually see it and they might even show aggression towards the scented fly on repeated drifts. I know that anything on visual is a big taboo in fly fishing but if flyfishing can adopt sound/vibration aspect of lure fishing with the use of popping flys ,I dont see why we cant soak the flys in scent. Thanks
@@MrSurfangler I catch most of my salmon on a dead drift so I definitely think it would work if they're in that mood. I've never used scent before. I know we can't when it comes to steelhead in the sections I fish but not sure about the rest of the river.
Absolutely. I focus on the DSR during salmon season because that is where you typically find the most aggressive salmon. But I use these all over for salmon and steelhead. In fact the first ever bite i had from a salmon was on a wooly bugger (although with less weight). There was an active pod of salmon at the tail of a pool in the Upper Fly Zone. They were chasing each other and challenging for the female. I swung the bugger in front of the pod and an aggressive male came out of the pod, chased my bugger down and ate it. I'll never forget that guy! I did not land him though... he broke me off after 5 minutes of fighting. :(
I've gone back and forth on hooks. Honestly interested on what other say! I good stout hook is what I'm looking for. I've bent out sooooo many hooks on big fish.
Actually I completely missed it! Was so bummed... I bought all of that stuff years ago. Fly tying supplies last forever! I don't have a good local shop anymore...
@@garytyler4382 They definitely will work for steelhead... although once I switch to steelhead I focus on egg imitations. The steelies will be feeding heavily on salmon eggs.
Pretty much anything will work for bluegill and bass :) But yes... This size is good for bass. The bluegill will need small size baits because their mouths are small so just tie them in smaller sizes.
I think it depends on the mood of the fish. I tie them different ways. I used to tied in some diamond braid for flash. Sometimes they're aggressive and like big flashy things and sometimes they're more pressured and spooky so I go smaller and more natural. Good to have a mix in your fly box.
@@jrbass328 I have never thrown a scud for salmon. I basically throw either wooly buggers or sometimes egg patterns. Salmon will often bite eggs of other salmon to give their own offspring a better chance of survival.
Just trying something different this year, have a handful of buggers tied up, plus a handful of scuds plus everything else. No kings yet where I'm at yet just coho.
@@peterjesch8834 At this point, yes. Although reports from the lake are not good so I'm not sure what kind of runs we'll get this year. Might be a tough year. If it looks dead I may not go... we'll see!
Yeah... I used to get a lot of my tying supplies there. Like to support local shops whenever possible. I showed up one day to buy some supplies and the doors were closed! I was so bummed! Ran into one of the guys who used to work the fly shop there on the river this summer. Really too bad.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany where the McD's is on 146. It was next to that. And here's one. Where that Price Chopper is and all the other stores etc.. I used to trap there and there was/is a little creek there.... Native brookies.
Awesome looking fly. I also like fishing with big flies and jigs in the purple and black colour for salmon as well. It turned out really nice.
Thanks. If the fish are in the right mood there is not much better than a bugger. I have found that even in tough conditions I can usually get a bite on these.
Thanks for sharing! I'm tying one now for the first time!
Awesome! Good luck and have fun with it!
Good simple pattern easy to tie and don’t have to worry about going through a bunch of them. Used this last year at the dsr and the salmon definitely will strike this fly. Came back to your channel this year to refresh on the tying process, thank you for sharing!
I got through a ton of these buggers in a day at the Salmon River! They are really the only fly I use up there and they get crushed by salmon every trip! Good luck this year!
Thank you so much by including a easy to follow material list! Great job
Thanks!
Great video,believe for salmon is the K.I.S.S. ( keep it simple stupid) principles,I started tying my buggers for salmon on shanks,can change hook size,riding up or down & if bent put can replace rather than lose the fly & added a fluorescent green or pink butt just looks cool,tight lines & bent reels 🤙
Nicely done video, great productive pattern. Thanks for all the info.
Thanks, I been waiting for this one!!!
Glad to finally deliver! :)
Thanks for posting these videos. Question: which brand and model fly tying vise do you recommend? Last fall I was introduced to the Salmon river (NY), which has led me to dig out my fly tying equipment that I last used over 30 years ago. In starting to tie some new patterns, I quickly remembered my frustration with the cheap starter vise that came with the kit I purchased. Also, aside from the Wooly Bugger, what other patterns do you recommend for Spring Steelhead and Browns? Thanks in advance.
The Salmon River is an awesome place with world class fishing! Enjoy! I use the Renzetti Traveler Vise: amzn.to/2VuLOB2 I use wooly buggers, egg imitations and pink squirmies almost exclusively for salmon, steelhead and browns. Steelhead love pink squirmies! I have a fly tying video for that one too. ruclips.net/video/vKApBiLErL4/видео.html
looks good. I would counter wrap a gold/silver/copper wire over the hackle to make them a little more durable.
You definitely could but to be honest these flies don't last long. I had a box that was literally FULL of these flies and after a great day on the river yesterday there are almost none left!!! So I don't bother with details. It just isn't worth the time for me with this particular fly. If you were going to use it for trout where they might last a lot longer then it would definitely help to do the counter wrap. I probably went through 50 flies yesterday and I had 2 that had hackle unravel after a fight with fish.
I absolutely love your videos. I’ve fly fished for Kings up in Michigan and it’s a blast. I have a large Lamison Reel but since I’m going back up there next year which rod weight and length would you recommend?
Thank you! I love switch rods for salmon and steelhead. For salmon I use a Redington Dually. I think it is 11'6" or close to it and it is an 8wt. If you haven't seen it already I go through my whole salmon setup in this video. ruclips.net/video/UHTWkr0L1Nw/видео.html
So I was reading the regulations and came upon this: "Artificial flies with no more than 1/8 oz. of added weight may be used." Has this affected your fishing at all there? Have you just added less weight onto the fly?
No. 1/8oz is really heavy for a fly. I have a micro scale I use for weighing the flies I tie and even my heaviest flies don't come close to that. 1/8oz is 3543 milligrams. My heaviest flies are 1200 milligrams and most are lighter.
great video, very informative, thanks for sharing
Thanks. I tie a ton of these every year. I had a full box and after 1 day of fishing I barely had any left this year.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I like flies that are easy to tie and expendable, they catch more fish in my opinion. You don't worry so much about casting near trees and snags, which is usuall;y where the fish are.
I wanna tie some better flies for the salmon River this year but I have trouble with hook sizes. I tied good bit last year of I just bright egg patterns but have to use such heavy hooks to prevent then from bending or snapping. I feel like these are undersized even tho I have seen you videos they just don't look heavy enough to me an I worry bout tying a ton of then to find out they aren't gonna work
I have found that the smaller hooks are less likely to bend out as they have more leverage to bend a bigger hook with a longer shank. I have also found that I don't need to tie big flies for salmon... they take the smaller flies just as well and when the fish are pressured the smaller flies fish much better. Having said that I still do bend some hooks out and have struggled to find the perfect hook. I just bought some jig style hooks from Firehole that I was going to tie my sexi stones on but they would be great for the smaller size buggers too. I don't have those hooks in front of me though...
Nice video mate! I was wondering if you tried indicator nymphing for salmon? I was thinking of trying some on my centrepin, I dont wish to floss or snag them ,I was wondering if you had any inputs on it, wish more anglers pursued these fish without the presumption that they don't bite, we would have a lot less lunacy and a lot more fun on the rivers.
I have seen them come up and take skien chunks!
Only difference between centrepin float fishing a fly vs fly gear would be that we always have a tight line to the float and we slow down the presentation to match the speed of the bottom current and ofcourse the fly is presented first , and since we that this direct contact we can impart small twitches/taps for minute movements we can also make the fly raise or fall depending on how much we hold back/ slow the reel.
I have done very little indicator nymphing for salmon but the technique you described will almost never foul or floss a salmon. I think what you describe would be really effective for salmon that are willing to bite!.. especially if you already have centrepin experience!
Its definitely a great way to present the bait with the same speed and as everything else in that water column, and works great on feeding fish, I just don't know if the Salmon would hit such naturally drifting /dead drifting presentation or ignore it like rest of the stuff/food drifting by it.
I will try to add a few twitches if the salmon ignore my dead drift.
I was also thinking of using scent as these fish smell in parts per billion and can difference between water from different streams .
The scent might help them zone in on the fly /be aware of its presence before they actually see it and they might even show aggression towards the scented fly on repeated drifts.
I know that anything on visual is a big taboo in fly fishing but if flyfishing can adopt sound/vibration aspect of lure fishing with the use of popping flys ,I dont see why we cant soak the flys in scent.
Thanks
@@MrSurfangler I catch most of my salmon on a dead drift so I definitely think it would work if they're in that mood.
I've never used scent before. I know we can't when it comes to steelhead in the sections I fish but not sure about the rest of the river.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Thanks buddy, this helps! will let you know how this Salmon season goes
Thanks for sharing , have u tried these anywhere else on the river besides the DSR
Absolutely. I focus on the DSR during salmon season because that is where you typically find the most aggressive salmon. But I use these all over for salmon and steelhead. In fact the first ever bite i had from a salmon was on a wooly bugger (although with less weight). There was an active pod of salmon at the tail of a pool in the Upper Fly Zone. They were chasing each other and challenging for the female. I swung the bugger in front of the pod and an aggressive male came out of the pod, chased my bugger down and ate it. I'll never forget that guy! I did not land him though... he broke me off after 5 minutes of fighting. :(
So what is a good 3x heavy streamer hook. Right now I tie buggers on a size 4 TMC 5262 but that is not 3xh. Im hoping to find a stronger hook. Thanks.
Mustad heritage hooks, i use s82s
I've gone back and forth on hooks. Honestly interested on what other say! I good stout hook is what I'm looking for. I've bent out sooooo many hooks on big fish.
Looks like you crushed the Goldstocks going out of biz sale my man. Nice
Actually I completely missed it! Was so bummed... I bought all of that stuff years ago. Fly tying supplies last forever! I don't have a good local shop anymore...
Have you had any success using a pink or other color bead to imitate an egg sucking leach?
Yes. I’ll tie them with pink tungsten beads as well!
Nice video. Thanks
Thanks Gary.. This is pretty much all I use during salmon season at the salmon river. Although I tend to use mostly black these days.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany I am headed out in a couple weeks for the Steelhead run. Do you think these will work for them ?
@@garytyler4382 They definitely will work for steelhead... although once I switch to steelhead I focus on egg imitations. The steelies will be feeding heavily on salmon eggs.
Will this work for bluegill and bass?
Pretty much anything will work for bluegill and bass :) But yes... This size is good for bass. The bluegill will need small size baits because their mouths are small so just tie them in smaller sizes.
No reflective materials? Is it better without or does it depend on the river?
I think it depends on the mood of the fish. I tie them different ways. I used to tied in some diamond braid for flash. Sometimes they're aggressive and like big flashy things and sometimes they're more pressured and spooky so I go smaller and more natural. Good to have a mix in your fly box.
I agree, next question have you ever had any luck throwing scuds for salmon, I'm on a recent kick of tieing them right now.
@@jrbass328 I have never thrown a scud for salmon. I basically throw either wooly buggers or sometimes egg patterns. Salmon will often bite eggs of other salmon to give their own offspring a better chance of survival.
Just trying something different this year, have a handful of buggers tied up, plus a handful of scuds plus everything else. No kings yet where I'm at yet just coho.
@@jrbass328 Good luck this year! Let me know if you get any takes on the scuds! Would be interested to find out!
They bite! Especially if you can find some fish away from the crowds.
Absolutely they do!!! I have had some fantastic days with really aggressive salmon!
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Do you plan on fishing the river this year?
@@peterjesch8834 At this point, yes. Although reports from the lake are not good so I'm not sure what kind of runs we'll get this year. Might be a tough year. If it looks dead I may not go... we'll see!
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany Yeah, i've heard the same thing. Hope to see you on the river!
@@peterjesch8834 If the salmon run is weak I may just save the time and head up for steelhead later! Now those are some serious fun!
Goldstock's!!!
Yeah... I used to get a lot of my tying supplies there. Like to support local shops whenever possible. I showed up one day to buy some supplies and the doors were closed! I was so bummed! Ran into one of the guys who used to work the fly shop there on the river this summer. Really too bad.
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany my dad would take me there on occasion. I lived in Clifton Park so we went to Saywer's mostly. Man, that was a while ago LOL
@@pensnut08 I live in Clifton Park. Never heard of Sawyer's. I guessing they haven't been around for a while?
@@WhiteDogTrailCompany where the McD's is on 146. It was next to that. And here's one. Where that Price Chopper is and all the other stores etc.. I used to trap there and there was/is a little creek there.... Native brookies.
@@pensnut08 I know the creek.. kind of a dumping ground now. Not exactly ideal for trout but there are a few small ones if you work really hard.
copper will work to i get copper out an old electric motor it works well