Colin's Green Bug

Sea run cutthroat thrive along the beaches of Puget Sound snacking on a rich and varied diet that includes organisms from baitfish to euphasids.  They are opportunistic feeders and will eat any number of flies that resemble their food and often attractor patterns that really don't.  When pursuing cutthroat in the salt, I tend to favor patterns that look like a lot of different things.  The Green Bug can be mistaken for anything from a polychaete worm to a sculpin to a large amphipod. My friend and cutthroat guide Colin Flanagan showed me this pattern many years ago and it has become a staple in my saltwater beach box.  The Green Bug is durable, easy to tie and can be scaled bigger or smaller, lighter or heavier as needed to suit your particular needs.  One of my favorite beach flies for Puget Sound has always been an Olive Wooly Bugger for the same reasons I love the Green Bug...it can look like whatever you want or need it to be simply by altering your presentation or retrieve.  Sometimes I'll strip it back with a short, darting motion, sometimes long, slow pulls.  Other times I simply let it swing in the gentle tidal current to produce results.  As implied by the name, the olive color featured for the Green Bug is generally my top choice, but I also like white, black, shrimp pink and an orange version for a change up when the green doesn't appear to be working its usual magic.  I also prefer tying this one with just standard polar chenille instead of the UV variety as I feel it's more supple and has better movement in the water.  Beach flies often take a beating between fallen backcasts and barnacled rocks.  I don't lament the loss of inexpensive and quick ties like the Green Bug quite as badly when the saltwater eventually gobbles them up. Colin's Green Bug Recipe: Hook: #8 Gamakatsu B10S Bead: 1/8" Brass or Tungsten Bead Thread: 140 Denier Olive Ultra Thread Tail: Olive Micro Rabbit Strip Flash: Red Krystal Flash Body: Olive Brown Polar Chenille You can purchase all the materials for Colin's Green Bug at: https://theconfluenceflyshop.com/blog...