Bunny Bugger Jig Fly

[Cgolf]

The bunny bugger has been my go to fly for years and it catches trout and bass especially smallies. Seeing @Eric 26 jig purchase on the latest purchase thread finally got me to tie these up after meaning to for years. Got this pattern off the internet years ago, and it suits my tying and fishing style because I am not a fan of marabou. 
 

tail fur off zonker strip

grizzly wet hackle

rabbit dub

1/16 ounce sized Jades jigs tin/bismuth Ned head. 
 

That’s it, and for not tying for a while they don’t look too bad. Think the lighter than lead heads will work well for the jig fly combo. Added one of the original flies for comparison. 

[Eric 26]

34 minutes ago, cgolf said:

The bunny bugger has been my go to fly for years and it catches trout and bass especially smallies. Seeing @Eric 26 jig purchase on the latest purchase thread finally got me to tie these up after meaning to for years. Got this pattern off the internet years ago, and it suits my tying and fishing style because I am not a fan of marabou. 
 

tail fur off zonker strip

grizzly wet hackle

rabbit dub

1/16 ounce sized Jades jigs tin/bismuth Ned head. 
 

That’s it, and for not tying for a while they don’t look too bad. Think the lighter than lead heads will work well for the jig fly combo. Added one of the original flies for comparison. 

I’m glad my purchase inspired you?. Those are some beautiful looking jig/flies, can’t wait to hear/see how they work out for you and best of luck when you get around to using them.  Hoping to finally get out tomorrow myself and put my jigs to use.

[FishinBuck07]

I really don't know why I look on this forum!  Lol. Now I may have to drag my tying stuff out this winter and tie some of them up!  Nice ties for sure!

[Will Wetline]

I like the proportions and they are certainly well crafted.

 

I don't like working with marabou either although small bits fly up around my face and darken up my mostly gray goatee which make me look younger. I'm sure the fish will like tufts of rabbit aa well.

 

 

[Cgolf]

4 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

I really don't know why I look on this forum!  Lol. Now I may have to drag my tying stuff out this winter and tie some of them up!  Nice ties for sure!

Tying flies in the winter is a great way to keep the fishing brain going. I used to tie all the time but the last few years I had slowed down. Hopefully now that I moved my tying bench to a common area I will get into it again. 

[FishinBuck07]

16 minutes ago, cgolf said:

Tying flies in the winter is a great way to keep the fishing brain going. I used to tie all the time but the last few years I had slowed down. Hopefully now that I moved my tying bench to a common area I will get into it again. 

Definitely, the problem is I have tied more flies than I will ever use in the last two years, even gave some away this summer to a guy!  

[heavyduty]

Well done, you've got some skills!

[Cgolf]

2 hours ago, FishinBuck07 said:

Definitely, the problem is I have tied more flies than I will ever use in the last two years, even gave some away this summer to a guy!  

Yeh I have a ton of nymphs and scuds I tied because they are fun to tie. Then you realize there is no way you can fish all the flys. Zuddlers and clouser minnows too. Then the bunny bugger becomes my Ned fly that catches everything big and small. It’s also a 5-6 minute tie when I am on my game. One fly I really like for trout though is an elk hair caddis, tied a ton of those. 

2 hours ago, heavyduty said:

Well done, you've got some skills!

Thanks I had some really good teachers. I took some classes through our local Trout Unlimited and they taught me a lot of things I couldn’t get from a book. 

[Fallser]

Nice ties.  The classic woolly bugger.  The proportions of tail and hackle are spot on for the hook size.  Great idea for the Ned Rig jigs.  I brought some 1/20 oz NR jigs with the idea of tying up some "Ned" flies.   I was working on the idea of a TRD shaped body using either chenille or mop pieces.  Didn't turn out the way I planned.  I tied one and decided it wasn't worth the effort to tie more.  I haven't had much luck with Woolly Buggers, mainly I'm a dry fly snob, and prefer to fish top water for bass. 

  When I was up in Ontario at the end of August/early September.  The smallies were sitting in 8 to 15 feet of water on mid-lake humps and shoals.  Weather wasn't conducive for fly fishing, very windy.  I caught one on top, and a half dozen on crayfish patterns and small buck tail jigs. Fortunately, I'm not fly fishing snob, and had a good week with soft plastics, bait and lures.

  I spent a lot of time during the lock down tying flies, but I can always use a few more.  I like to add a couple of new flies each season to my fly boxes, replacing ones that didn't work as well as liked or thought they would.  Now a new, to me, pattern to play with.

   Marabou and Zonker strips can both be a PITA to tie with.  I'll probably tie a few with each material.  I like the idea of using marabou as a split tail though I do have 1/8 inch Zonker strips that should also work.  Tying preference, I use either sparkle or ice chenille for my bugger bodies.  Not sure whether that makes a difference or not.

Again, great job.

 

 

[Eric 26]

I finally got out to try out 2 out of the 3 jigs today, I’m going to post some pics in the “latest catch pics thread”, I was having good luck and loving the zonkers jig. Although I’m not quite ready to take up tying flies/jigs the pictures on here along with my results are making me think about it?

[Cgolf]

9 minutes ago, Eric 26 said:

I finally got out to try out 2 out of the 3 jigs today, I’m going to post some pics in the “latest catch pics thread”, I was having good luck and loving the zonkers jig. Although I’m not quite ready to take up tying flies/jigs the pictures on here along with my results are making me think about it?

Its a fun hobby, but another monkey to deal with lol. It doesn’t really save money, but does let you tie whatever you need and to tweak patterns to your liking. 

[Eric 26]

8 hours ago, cgolf said:

Its a fun hobby, but another monkey to deal with lol. It doesn’t really save money, but does let you tie whatever you need and to tweak patterns to your liking. 

I think for now I’ll just support those that are more talented than  myself ?. For what it’s worth (not much I know) your ties are definitely ? looking like they will produce for sure.

[dopey]

Been tying jig flies for years - here's a set of Renegades on a tiny jig head.

[Cgolf]

1 hour ago, dopey said:

Been tying jig flies for years - here's a set of Renegades on a tiny jig head.

Nice, panfish flies, or bass too?

[dopey]

Trout and panfish but the bass won't leave them alone!!  One body of water I fish has pickerel in it and they always hit them.