Editor’s note: This is another in a series of favorite flies used by members of Schuylkill County Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Originating in Alaska and Western states, the glo-bug fly was first tied as an imitation of salmon eggs, but is now tied to match many forms of fish food.
Tied in a round shape in sizes ranging from No. 2-18, glo-bugs catch fish in every size, although they are used to catch primarily salmon, steelhead and brown trout, but are effective for all species of trout, bass, panfish and perch. Even catfish and carp will hit them when tied in purple or blue colors to match mulberries.
Spawning salmon, steelhead and browns on the nest provide an opportunity to match the eggs flowing with the current. Water temperatures as well as length of time eggs have been in the stream give an opportunity to try many colors of eggs.
A major provider of materials to tie this fly is the Bug Shop, which offers material in at least 36 colors and four sizes to produce numerous patterns and sizes, making the fly boxes of serious egg fishermen look like an Easter basket with the different colors expanded with flies of assorted colors. Many anglers feel using a multi-hued fly gives fish the opportunity to pick what it wants, and flies known as blood-dots use a small spot of a contrasting color to look like the yolk of an egg.
At times fish will feed behind a hen salmon or steelhead, which provides a chance to float a glo-bug through that area. Hits are often aggressive. Vary the colors of the glo-bugs to match colors of eggs visible in current, keeping in mind water conditions from clear to muddy determine what flies to present. Various shades of orange, pink, red and cream seem to be the most popular, but at times some wild colors or combinations can be the hot ticket on a given day.
Alaskan rivers, as well as those coming from the Pacific Ocean and the Great Lakes, are perfect places to fish egg imitations. Stocked trout favor the smaller sizes, and rolling a glo-bug through a hole often will produce a few fish.
On streams where bread has been fed to the fish, white or cream glo-bugs are effective, as are those in brown or black to fish accustomed to feeding on pellets. Some commercial fisheries where dispensers sell fish pellets along the stream offer a real setup for these flies.
Fly tiers can come up with patterns a bit different from what other anglers are using, and a good assortment of yarn, listed as glo-bug yarn or McFly Foam. These can be obtained easily in different sizes and colors, and yarn is inexpensive, so most anglers get a large assortment together.
Material can be held while placing on fly, but getting a tool known as an egg gun makes tying go much quicker, wastes less material and produces a much neater fly. Tying flies provides the opportunity to shape brown and black bugs in long and oval shapes to match fish food pellets.
Another way to present something a bit different is to take a cigarette lighter and quickly singe an already tied glo-bug. These singed bugs seem to have a shine to them as they float downstream and are often a real turn-on.
As previously stated, glo-bugs are tied in many sizes, but sizes 10-12 are usually the most productive, and have a few with wire-wrapped bodies to help put the fly deep. Putting a bead head on the hook and tying a glo-bug over it is another approach, and a bit of white or cream yarn draped over the fly seems to match milt on the egg.
Information about Schuylkill County Trout Unlimited is available by accessing the chapter’s Facebook page.