Bodkin / Patterns

Hen Bugger

Streamer · Trout · Smallmouth Bass · Largemouth Bass · Pike · Intermediate · 3 versions

Reference Recipe

  • Hook 3XL streamer hook, 6-10
  • Thread Black 6/0

Materials

  • Marabou Black marabou (1 plume)
  • Krystal Flash Pearl flashabou (4-6 strands)
  • Chenille Black chenille (1 length medium)
  • Hen saddle hackle Black or grizzly saddle hackle (1 feather)

How to tie it

  1. Start the thread behind the eye and lay a smooth base back to the bend.
  2. Tie in a marabou tail one shank length long. Keep it sparse and let the loose fibers breathe.
  3. Fold 4-6 strands of Krystal Flash over the tie-in point so they flank the tail, no longer than the marabou.
  4. Strip one side of a hen hackle bare and bind the tip in by the bend, then bind in a length of chenille at the same point.
  5. Wrap the chenille forward in touching turns to just behind the eye and secure. Hen buggers use a softer, webbier hackle than a standard bugger for more pulse in the water.
  6. Palmer the hen hackle forward over the chenille in 5-6 evenly spaced turns and tie off behind the eye. Stroke the fibers rearward as you go.
  7. Build a small thread head, whip finish, and add a drop of head cement.

Other versions

2 more in the app: Fly Fish Food Tie, variant 1, Fly Fish Food Tie, variant 2.

Tying videos

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