Great choice. Got my first trout on a sub-surface fly on a Zug Bug. It should be in every fly fishers fly box. It’s so good, it deserves its own catchy slogan. Sadly, I can’t think of anything better than, “Hug the Zug Bug!” Help?!
Oh my gosh Bob... since when do flies get slogans?? Maybe we can start a trend! But I'm drawing a blank. Maybe we could write a poem about it? Then again, not too many words rhyme with Zug. Plug, mug, rug, and like Joe said... lug. While finishing my coffee in my mug, I dropped a bug on my rug. It was a zug. I'm such a lug. I'll show myself out. :-)
@@SavageFlies Oh my! Lol. The Zug Bugs is so effective that it made me think of Lefty’s Deceiver (another go anywhere, use anytime fly) & Lefty’s catchy comment about a chartreuse & white Deceiver, “If it ain’t chartreuse, it ain’t no use.” Perhaps instead of a phrase for the Zug Bug, there ought to be one for peacock herl. Either that or I’m having some senior moments. 😳
Glad you enjoyed the story. Your series on Appalachian flies series is how I cane across your channel to begin with. Then I saw the Smoky Mountain poster on your wall and was like, 'That's like back home!'
to catch off the counter wrapped floss/wire/tinsel I have been looping my thread around the wire to reverse direction and bind it down counter wrapping the thread (tends to tighten the wire instead of loosening it) for a couple of tight wraps, then reverse around the wire again to resuming normal wrapping. this allows tight segmentation wraps and less total wraps especially on a bulky combination of materials like with this bug.
You know Lee, I actually DO know that trick but didn't even think about it on this one! I really should have, especially after the rib slipped on me. Thanks for leaving this comment; maybe it will help someone else out there. And... I'll try to do it on the next ribbed fly I tie. :-)
Hi from Kansas City 🎣🤠,. Great fly I would tye one of these when I was a kid. I would use yellow yarn body wrapped up with a black hearl counter wound up to the eye, black hackel tail, then wind a little bit of 4# test mono to hold it all together. Finnish with red thread and wrap a front hackel of brown or black Chinese. This will catch anything. 🎣🤠 Thanks for the recipe and the video. Dave Hughes
My first fly I ever tied when I was 11. Thompson vice with a kit. This was the first fly with no photos and carbon copy pamphlet. My go to pan fish fly and a great fly when nothing else is working. I like it with black the best.
Cool story Marc. I remember my first fly too, a big cork bodied panfish popper tied while sitting at the kitchen table. Thanks for the note my friend. :-)
Awesome! My favorite nymph, my favorite name for a fly. Can't go wrong with the magic of peacock! I like them nice and fat, like a football, on a #8, 3906 or 3366 (my favorite). Usually weighted in the middle. Those hooks were left over from bait fishing. My first peacock herl was given to me by a coworker that tied flies. The things were only 2 or 3 inches long stapled to a matchbook like cardboard, they would only wrap a little ways up the hook. So I tied a thorax of chocolate brown rabbit and finished the fly. It worked. When I found some good peacock I tied them per the recipe but eventually left an underbody of that chocolate brown rabbit. I've tied a few variants but the fat ones produced the most. Thanks Matt, you made my day.
Wow Joe, that was easy! Love the story though, and I couldn't agree more... peacock herl is the most magical of materials. I've always been amazed at how it can appear differently in different water and light conditions. Speaking of chocolate brown rabbit, I'm getting hungry!
@@SavageFlies HA! I've found 8 oz Hershey's solid chocolate Easter rabbits for 50 cents at our local dollar store :o) Soon you'll see "Don't be lug, fish a Zug" t shirts at your local dollar store. ;o)
@@SavageFlies Sounds good. I'm cooking mine, chicken thighs with red wine and crushed tomato. Death by Chocolate ice cream sounds good for dessert. Bon appetit!
Funny Hugh, someone who watched the video this morning sent me an email saying he just tied some up last night and caught some brook trout on it this morning. This thing must really be pretty effective!
I learned something here because I would have sworn the Zug Bug was a western pattern. On an unrelated note, how great is peacock herl? For fly tyers, it's the gift that just keeps giving. Readily available, cheap to buy, easy to work with, comes from a species that's not threatened or endangered, and fish love it. I wonder who the first person ever to use it was? Now there's a story that, as far as I know, has never been told and is likely not tellable because it's lost in time.
Peter- I'm with you 100% here my friend! The beautiful peacock has got to be responsible for more fish caught than any animal in history. :-) And great idea about who first thought to use it in fly tying. And you're right, it might be hard to figure out, but I'm going to try. We do see it in Mary Orvis Marbury's book from 1892. And the first fly in Ian Whitlaw's "The History of Fly-Fishing in Fifty Flies" first mentions it in the Royal Coachman created in 1878. I do have a few books from the early 1800s I can start digging through, but that's a chore as none of them are indexed very well and many of them don't even have pictures. But excellent comment my friend. A great question that has piqued my curiosity enough I'm going to start looking for an answer. Thank you! Cheers. -Matt
Thanks Jim! I was almost hesitant to tie it for the channel as there are already a half dozen videos of it being tied out there. But there's always room for one more. :-)
Man, Peacock Hurl & Peacock Sword, can’t beat that. Got both of these materials for Christmas from Diane. She was talking about how beautiful these are. Are we going to need another vice? We’ll see. I will definitely be tying a few of these until I get something that looks good. But we’ll fish the ugly ones as well. I could watch you tie these all day long Matt. Just a solid beautiful fly. Great job, and video. Thank you buddy.
I've been watching many, many fly tying videos in the last few weeks and most of them are very good but I have to say I really enjoy yours. I love your personality and I always pick up some valuable hints. Thanks for producing them. All the best from Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Wow, thank you for this kind comment! These comments really make my day, and when I'm up past midnight editing a video when I should be sleeping... words of encouragement like this really keep me going. So thank you for that my friend. :-)
Great fly, I've caught many fish using this pattern in sizes 10s and 14s. I would consider this as one of my top ten go too flies, fished sub surface. Thanks for sharing 👍
Thanks Layton! And I'm seeing a lot of comments here that this has been a go-to fly for a lot of folks. I've used it occasionally over the years but may need to give it another look. I tied a #10 for the video (it's easier to make a video on a big hook), but will probably tie a handful of 14s that I'll actually fish. Thanks for the note!
I wonder if Mr. Zug has anything to do Zug Island in the Detroit River. I think probably not but you never know. Nice classic pattern Matt. Keep 'em coming.
Good thinking but no... Zug Island was named for Samuel Zug, one of the founders of the Republican Party and a staunch abolitionist who came to Detroit from Cumberland County, Pennsylvania in 1836 to make his fortune in the furniture industry. And sure, I knew that off the top of my head. I'm kidding; I just looked it up on Wikipedia. :-)
Hi Matt, you made that look easy. I tried to tie that fly when I started to try something other than the basic flies. I failed miserably, it may be time to try it again with your instruction.
Definitely give it another shot Michael! And believe me, sometimes when I'm tying a new pattern, the first half a dozen look terrible but then I start to get the hang of it. (And on this one, I wasn't really happy with that rib. After it slipped, I should have unwrapped and then re-wrapped it.) But oh well, it's a fishing fly. :-)
Great old standard.Tied them down to a 20 eliminating the tail.Never used lead for weight always used 2 or 3 layers of copper wire(like the original pheasant tail)the copper never conflicted with the cinnamon color that the herl takes on when wet.
@@SavageFlies I used to fish one spot in NY that if you fished anything larger tan a 20 you got skunked.Tied none descript nymphs and ants on 24’s.Super picky browns but always quality fish.At night that same spot was gold with a mouse or a large streamer,don’t have much idea as to why night and day were so different.Far from a master just had to tie stuff that worked.
Matt, you should write your own book. What most books lack are conditions most suitable for specific flies. Count me in as your first buyer (hopefully autographed of course)
Mike- absolutely! I haven't told a lot of people this, but one of the reasons I started this channel was because writing books is part of my retirement plan. When I can give up my day job and move out to the farm, I hope to keep making videos but also write a few books. Of course this will require a lot of "research" fishing trips all over the country, but maybe I can pick up an RV and take my wife along with me. :-) Thanks for the note my friend!
Thanks Jason! I probably got this Hareline pack from J. Stockard: www.jsflyfishing.com/hareline-peacock-swords but... you can usually find them at most craft stores. :-)
Good morning Matt. One of the few mornings I have been having my coffee before you posted. I always enjoy the lead-ins to your videos. For me I’ve really come to enjoy and find it interesting to hear about the history behind how a fly originated. Enjoyed today’s fly too. Enjoy your weekend Matt.
@@Jd-yc3gw Thanks John, I really appreciate comments like this. It's what keeps me going sometimes! Normally I tie the fly the night before and schedule it to go live at 7am, but last night I was up late watching TV with the wife so tried getting up early for this one. It's usually a 3+ hour process from start to upload so I only ended up being a couple hours late. But a do appreciate you watching my friend. You have a great weekend too!
Now remember. I hooked a giant rainbow and it broke my line on a Zug Bug that was giant. Yes - I had a big fly - and it broke my line. Now just remember. : )
Mario- I have never heard of anyone targeting mullet with a fly rod. I just did a quick search and it appears they are vegetarians (kind of rare for a fish, but not unheard of). I suppose you could chum them with bread and tie a fly that looks like bread but I wouldn't think that to be very successful. I did read that they will eat some maggots which would be possible to tie an imitation of, but still probably hard to get one to take it in still water. Sorry I don't have more information. Good luck to you!
Hey man I was looking at Maribou for buggers and leeches and am wondering if you would buy a big boa if they would work. It says they aren’t colorfast, so does that mean the color will come out in the water? Thanks
Generally, yes it means the dye will leach out when it gets wet. But the color won't all fade. What you can do is soak the feathers in water overnight and all the color that is going to fade out will. The feathers after that might not be as bright but they will have retained a lot of the color. One thing you might do (I've never tried though) is to put them in water with some vinegar for about ten minutes. If they were dyed with an acidic dye this will cause it to set and then it should be colorfast. If you give it a try let me know how it turns out!
Hello guys, I’m case of a nymph without weight, how would you fish this pattern? Adding splitshots? I usually try to weight my flies cuse I’m just terrible casting with split shots. Thank you
Felipe- this is a good question. If you really don't want to use splitshot, by all means, tie it weighted. Or if you want to splurge, get some black, or dark nickle tungsten beads. Sometimes I'll put a heavier nymph as my top fly, which will end up being fairly tight to my leader, but with the lighter and smaller fly tied to the bend of the hook, the second fly will flutter a little more naturally under it. Of course, I always wonder if I'm missing takes when fishing like this, but I catch enough on the bottom fly that I don't worry too much about it. :-)
@@SavageFlies thank you Matt! Unfortunately here in BC, Canada we cannot fish two flies. Gonna try some black beads. Something I’ve been doing is to add flat lead on the body to keep it as slender as possible. Ty for the detailed advise my friend.
Definitely give it a shot Richard! I haven't used it a lot, but from reading the comments here it sounds like it has done great for a lot of folks. :-)
