Nymphs: Step-by-step fly tying instructions. 

Bugaboo created by Mike Schmidt.

The Bugaboo is a fly that I tied up for fly fishing in the fall on into the winter. It's heavy enough to get down and bounce the bottom in faster flows, but the soft hackle allows you to swing it out at the end of a drift and get some sexy movement with just enough flash to get the fishes' attention.

Fly tying materials

Hook: Daiichi 1560 size 18-12. 
Thread: UTC70 black.
Head: Nymph-Head® FlyColor™ brass bead, stonefly black.
Tail: Microfibbets, black.
Body: 1mm Sybai Flexi Floss, gold brown.
Shellback: 4mm Sybai Pearl Braidback, brown.
Thorax: Zelon dubbing, tiger beetle black.
Collar: Hungarian Partridge.
Epoxy shell: Clear Cure Goo Thick.

Fly tying instructions

Step 1

Place the FlyColor™ bead on the Daiichi 1560 hook and advance your thread to the rear tie in point.

Step 2

Tie in black microfibbets as a split triple tail.

Step 3

At the rear tie in point, tie in the Sybai Flexi Floss. Be sure to tight wrap it to the shank but stop approximately the width of the material in front of the tail so that when you wrap it forward you do not force the tail down.

Step 4

Wrap the Flexi Floss forward with overlapping wraps to form a nice body taper.

Step 5

Tie in the Pearl Braidback and wrap back over the Flexi Floss to just back of the halfway point on the hook shank.

Step 6

Make a loose dub of zelon and wrap forward to create a buggy body.

Step 7

Tie in a Hungarian Partridge feather by the tip and give a single wrap then tie it off.

Step 8

Split the fibers evenly over the shank as you pull the Braidback forward and tie it off. Whip finish at this point and remove your thread.

Step 9

Finish off the fly by applying a shell of Clear Cure Goo. Extend the Goo from over the bead back in to the Flexi Floss and harden to finish the fly.