Fly Tying: Complex Twist Bugger

Trout bugs are cool. The Complex Twist Bugger is cool. It is a great streamer that gives you a mix of old school and new school all wrapped in one fishing catching package. You can alter the colors, styles of feathers, flash material, and dubbings to create some cool and one of kind patterns for your box.

You might question the hook size, especially for a trout bug, keep in mind that you are going to use enough materials to form the body that the hook gap is going to diminish greatly.

Protip, get yourself a Loon Gator Grip dubbing spinner. This spinner has a changeable hook and gator grip (roach clip). The gator grip makes spinning the complex twist super much easier.

Instructions and photos by Mike Brown. Mike Brown is the owner of Mossy’s Fly Shop in Anchorage, Alaska.

Material List:

Hook Shank: Daiichi 1710 Sz 2
Thread: Veevus 140 Black
Conehead: Hareline Large Copper
Lead Wire: .025
Tail: 2 pieces of olive and 2 pieces of brown marabou
Body: UV Polar Chenille Copper/Olive, Grizzly Olive and Grizzly Brown Schlappen
Collar: Hareline Fusion Dub Crusty Nail

Step 1. First, place your conehead onto the hook and slide to the front. Now, using your .025 wire, make about 20 wraps. Once the wraps are made, come back over your wire and wrap appx 4 more wraps. This will create a nice bump to sit inside the cone keeping it from wobbling around.

Step 2. Push the lead underbody forward, seating the cone snug against the hook eye. Start your thread behind the wire and build a nice little tapper, then cover your lead wire well and wrap your thread back to your hooks barb.

Step 3. Using 4 pieces of marabou, mix the colors up. Make your tail length appx the same length as the hook shank. Tie the marabou to the shank right up to the lead wire. This will give you a more unified even body. Trim off excess.

Step 4. Tie in your UV Polar Chenille and pull back out of your way.

Step 5. Tie in both of your schlappen feathers at the tips. Be sure to open the feathers up so that you don’t have to have too many feathers trapped when you spin them.

Step 6. Grab your polar chenille and both schlappen feathers and stack them together. Brush and comb all the feathers and fibers out and pull tight.

Step 7. Using a gator grip or some kind of a roach-style clip, grab your stack at the bottom and begin to spin. You will need to pick and brush at them as you wrap, you want to trap as little of your materials as possible. Spin them tight till you have a small, center core.

Step 8. Wrap your twisted material forward, sweep the feathers, and chenille back with each turn. Wrap up to the conehead and tie off. Trim excess material.

Step 9. Using your Fusion dub, pull a generous clump and even out the tips. Place the dubbing clump, middle of clump, against the back of the cone and put a couple of loose wraps around the dubbing. Once you have a couple of loose turns of thread, wrap the next couple tight. As you tighten up you may need to help the dubbing fill around the entire hook. This will seat the dubbing up tight to the cone. Pull the front side of the dubbing clump back and tie off. Whip finish. Brush the dubbing and the body out.