Bugs, Bugs & more Bugs

Last night I decided that it was time to start getting the bugs box ready for the forthcoming Grayling season, so I had one of those moments.....

A night where it was a few drams just for medicinal reasons of course and some tying.

I've been a lifelong admirer of Frank Sawyer, his writings and his tying's, long since when I was barely out of shorts, I was taken under the wing of a few regular Clyde anglers and introduced to the Chaddy Bug or the Frank Sawyers Killer Bug to give it its proper terminology of course made from the now world famous Chadwick wool 477.
Once a very cheap wool but worth its weight in Gold nowadays with original lengths selling for ridiculous prices in excess of £100.




Then later in life after reading  his books and dreaming of fishing the River Avon in Wiltshire I had that exact privilege, courtesy of the Services Fly Fishing Association whilst I was stationed in Larkhill as an CIS Instructor to fish the stretches where Frank Sawyer was once the river keeper....an ambition ticked off the bucket list.

As of recent though a new killer bug has been rumbling around the fly fishing communities, mainly on the Tenkara sites but now appearing on most fly fishing sites and that is the Utah Killer Bug. Based on the same idea as Frank Sawyer's original killer bug idea but with wool readily available to all at decent prices.

After following a few threads and other anglers writings of using the bug I decided to give the bug a go so ordered my wool as specified in the tying instruction and another wool I liked the look of and set about tying some, with a slight difference in that pink fly tying thread was used in the originals which I thought I had some only to find I only had fluorescent pink, ah well am sure the fish wont mind too much, after all its the same pink I use to tie my Bubble Gum Bugs which the Grayling of  this area love so much, and the normal Pink is ordered for future tying's.

Utah Bugs in fluorescent Orange & Pink.










Ingredients;
- Scud/caddis larvae hook – sizes 18 to 8
- Pink 8/0 or 6/0 Uni thread
- Pink UTC Ultra Wire, Medium
- Shetland Spindrift Yarn in Oyster...available here......Oyster 290

Although its called the Utah Bug the wool for the correct tying of it comes from The Shetland Islands

I ordered another blend of wool that I looked the like of so tied some of the same up with that wool and will give that a go also and see what the difference is if any.

Thats the start of the Bug Box made up for this year & combined with the usual Bubble Gum Bugs and a few other favourites we will at least be set for the start of the Ladies season.










 UPDATE
Typical you always find something when your not looking for it, in this instance the Pink thread I knew I had but for some reason wasn't in my fly tying box.....because the wife borrowed it to sew on a button on her pink cardigan............. anyway here is one done in the natural pink.