Cole Bugger

Cole Bugger, Tan

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Tying Instructions

1. Weight the front half of the hook shank with lead wire wraps. Secure with thread wraps.

2. Attach a Saddle Hackle that is about 2 1/2 times the shank length from the base of the lead wraps. Position the hackle on top of the shank in a vertical manner and secure with tight wraps. Tie down area for the hackle tail should be less than 1/4″ from the lead wraps to the first fibers. You can extend the quill butt over the lead wraps if you need to secure better.

3. Attach 4 strands of Krystal Flash at the same tie-down location. The Flash should almost extend to the end of the tail.

4. Clip 20 strands of marabou from the side of a marabou quill and attach them at the tail tie down location so that the marabou fibers only extend about a hook gap beyond the bend of the hook. Bring the butt ends of the marabou over the lead wraps and secure to just behind the eye.Then rewrap the thread back to the tail tie-in position.

5. Select a soft hackle. The hackle should be one size less than the hook size. Stroke the fibers back and attach the hackle by the tip behind the hook shank with the stroked fibers sweeping to the rear. Also attach 5-6 peacock herls by the tips at the same location.

6. Twist the herl around the thread into a chennille and wrap forward covering the leadwraps . Secure the herl just behind the eye.

7. Wrap the soft hackle forward tying off the butt end just behind the eye. If you’ve given yourself enough room, you can also add a collar hackle here, using the same saddle hackle you used for the tail, for a more fuller body effect. Cover the clipped butts with thread wraps and Whip Finish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 5263 #6-8
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Head	Danville Black 6/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree Wire
Hackle	2 wraps of Dun Saddle Hackle
Body	Peacock Herl
Tail	Medium Ginger Saddle Hackle with 4 strands of Ginger Marabou

Cole Bugger

Jeff Cole of San Diego showed me this fly in May 2004 while at Alper’s Ranch on the Upper Owens River. He’s been tying this fly for about 20 years. The action on the fly resembles a baitfish and the trout found it irresistible. Jeff would dangle it along the undercuts and Browns would dart out to grab it. I suspect that this fly would also be effective as a warmwater fly for Bass and Sacramento Perch.

Variations

Cole Bugger, Olive

Hook	TMC 5263 #6-8
Thread	Danville Black 6/0
Head	Danville Black 6/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree Wire
Hackle	2 wraps of Grizzly Olive Saddle Hackle
Body	Peacock Herl
Tail	Olive Saddle Hackle with 4 strands of Olive Marabou

Cole Bugger, Brown

Hook	TMC 5263 #6-8
Thread	Danville Brown 6/0
Head	Danville Black 6/0
Weight	0.020 Leadfree Wire
Hackle	2 wraps of Black Saddle Hackle
Body	Peacock Herl
Tail	Furnace Saddle Hackle with 4 strands of Brown Marabou