# Anything on Gurglers?



## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Gurglers are money for snook and juvi tarpon.

I throw a riff on an old school gartside when the summer tides get higher.

I don't like alot of material on mine...like them to ride high and pop...

View media item 1330
Bucktail, hackle feather, foam...flash is optional...


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## Flyer (Mar 27, 2019)

The fly looks great! I like the idea of a lot of foam and the hint if a body. What size do you normally tie and what color do you like best - of course conditions will dictate at times.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

I normally tie them on a #2 hook with a shank long enough to accommodate the foam body. The one I posted is my favorite color combo.

Some guys like bushy gurgs with lots of material and do well. But I'm often throwing a 6wt in the backwaters and don't like slinging heavy water logged flies. The bucktail and hackle feather sheds water nicely and are durable enough to stand up to a few fish (or mangrove adventures) before wearing out...


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## Flyer (Mar 27, 2019)

I like the color combo and the theory of tossing a lean fly. Are you throwing this now? Early morning - late eve- or anytime the mood strikes?


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## Denduke (Oct 31, 2018)

For what it's worth here are some of my shrimp gurglers. They didn't pop big enough so added lil foam at the plastic disc in front.
BTW the hump in the middle is 5mm glass rattle.


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## mavdog32 (Apr 5, 2019)

@Denduke might be saving that pic for inspiration if'n you don't mind sir!?


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## Skram (Feb 8, 2019)

Love throwing gurglers for trout and reds up here on the panhandle. I keep em simple and light. Craft fur tail some flash and a chenille body.


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## flyslinger (Feb 7, 2019)

I have had good success throwing #4 GG's as searching patterns. I got the idea from the orginal hard East Cut Poppers, which look more ike panfish poppers. I tie them sparse with short tails and Eztaz bodies. White and chartreuse. They cast easily into the wind and always amaze me how many fish find them in choppy water.


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## duppyzafari (Jul 9, 2015)

Gurgs always cast much more easily than I expect and provoke some explosive eats. I’ve always got a few in my box.


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

Jred said:


> View attachment 46202


This gurgler is my go to dock light snook fly.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

They work in fresh or salt water


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## sidelock (Jan 31, 2011)




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## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

The gurgler remains my all time favorite fly fresh & salt. I have caught more fish and more species on a gurgler than any other fly. But maybe because its my confidence bait. Unlike a lot of other gurglers posted, I don't actually go for a high floating "popping" gurgler. I use a well proportioned tail & body to give it a full fishy profile with a lot of movement. I like mine to just float the surface and put off a nice wake. Rather than popping it, i give it three or four baby strips and then pause a couple seconds. It looks just like a tail hooked finger mullet nervously milling at the surface. That being said, it works best in very calm conditions because it is very subtle. Sometimes I will tie a more foam heavy gurg with less body material to actually get a good pop when I need my fly to be noticed. My two best snook have been on the subtle gurg and they launched clean out of the water when they ate it. Nothing beats a gurgler bite!


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Cronced said:


> This gurgler is my go to dock light snook fly.


Really? Almostnever throw gurglers at docelights. Guess I should more....


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

timogleason said:


> Really? Almostnever throw gurglers at docelights. Guess I should more....


An all white gurgler about 2 to 2.5 inches long will keep you busy around dock lights. It can be mistaken for shrimp, glass minnows, pilchards, you name it.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

I usually go smaller and subsurface. My dock lights tend to be plugged with the smallest of baitfish about 1" long


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

timogleason said:


> I usually go smaller and subsurface. My dock lights tend to be plugged with the smallest of baitfish about 1" long


Perfect reason to throw a 2 inch gurgler. It will stand out from the rest of everything else and give the fish a reason to be curious.

I've always been a big fan of generalist, attractor type lures and flies. Does a gurgler "really" look like anything? Does a chartreuse and white clouser minnow look like anything a fish sees? Does a Rapala swim like any baitfish a predator has seen? Does a flairhawk jig even look like something edible? All of these have proven to be very successful at catching fish despite not really being accurate depictions of predator forage.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Cronced said:


> Perfect reason to throw a 2 inch gurgler. It will stand out from the rest of everything else and give the fish a reason to be curious.
> 
> I've always been a big fan of generalist, attractor type lures and flies. Does a gurgler "really" look like anything? Does a chartreuse and white clouser minnow look like anything a fish sees? Does a Rapala swim like any baitfish a predator has seen? Does a flairhawk jig even look like something edible? All of these have proven to be very successful at catching fish despite not really being accurate depictions of predator forage.


a 2" white gurgler has been tied. We'll see how it goes...


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## msmith719 (Oct 9, 2012)

Better tie more of them!


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Got some looks and follows but those little bastard poons were having none of it...


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

Anything else go after them?


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Cronced said:


> Anything else go after them?


no - I tried them on my most difficult quarry. These poon that I haven't gotten to eat in a month. They were having none of it...

Good fun trying though!


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## Cronced (Nov 18, 2016)

timogleason said:


> no - I tried them on my most difficult quarry. These poon that I haven't gotten to eat in a month. They were having none of it...
> 
> Good fun trying though!


I'm fortunate to work in an area where I can observe a lot of tarpon at night. One thing I noticed about tarpon is that they will commit to eating something if they know it will be a surprise. And it really doesn't matter what it is. Shrimp, crabs, mullet, snakes, squid, whatever.

So, when a prey item is moving along, minding it's own business, a tarpon will notice it, track on it, and eat it. And in general if they can follow something for around 10 feet or so and that thing doesn't send out an alarm, the tarpon will go for it.

That's the approach I try to take with them. I know it is sort of a vague concept but I want my lure or fly to be saying "everything is fine... everything is fine... everything is fine..."


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## Boykinballer (Nov 13, 2018)

Denduke said:


> View attachment 69708
> View attachment 69710
> For what it's worth here are some of my shrimp gurglers. They didn't pop big enough so added lil foam at the plastic disc in front.


What hook did you tie these on?


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

For everyone that likes gurglers.... These days gurglers have gotten away from the original pattern that Jack Gartside came up with all those years ago... Be a good idea to get a look at the original Gurgler... It's lightweight, easy to cast and just does a number on any fish in the shallows that will attack anything at the surface that's struggling a bit...


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## TieOneOnJax (May 24, 2018)

Pierson said:


> The gurgler remains my all time favorite fly fresh & salt. I have caught more fish and more species on a gurgler than any other fly. But maybe because its my confidence bait. Unlike a lot of other gurglers posted, I don't actually go for a high floating "popping" gurgler. I use a well proportioned tail & body to give it a full fishy profile with a lot of movement. I like mine to just float the surface and put off a nice wake. Rather than popping it, i give it three or four baby strips and then pause a couple seconds. It looks just like a tail hooked finger mullet nervously milling at the surface. That being said, it works best in very calm conditions because it is very subtle. Sometimes I will tie a more foam heavy gurg with less body material to actually get a good pop when I need my fly to be noticed. My two best snook have been on the subtle gurg and they launched clean out of the water when they ate it. Nothing beats a gurgler bite!
> 
> View attachment 72530


Really cool version of this pattern. I may stick a couple of those in my box.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

lemaymiami said:


> These days gurglers have gotten away from the original pattern that Jack Gartside came up with all those years ago


Yup. The ones I tie follow his example.


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

Cronced said:


> I'm fortunate to work in an area where I can observe a lot of tarpon at night. One thing I noticed about tarpon is that they will commit to eating something if they know it will be a surprise. And it really doesn't matter what it is. Shrimp, crabs, mullet, snakes, squid, whatever.
> 
> So, when a prey item is moving along, minding it's own business, a tarpon will notice it, track on it, and eat it. And in general if they can follow something for around 10 feet or so and that thing doesn't send out an alarm, the tarpon will go for it.
> 
> That's the approach I try to take with them. I know it is sort of a vague concept but I want my lure or fly to be saying "everything is fine... everything is fine... everything is fine..."


Yup. Like dead-sticking a DOA or Vudu shrimp. Twitch, twitch and then let it drift in the current at least 25 feet.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Got one of my little pets to eat a little white one this AM right before it got light. They were on the feed and couldn't believe I didn't catch more.


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## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

lemaymiami said:


> For everyone that likes gurglers.... These days gurglers have gotten away from the original pattern that Jack Gartside came up with all those years ago... Be a good idea to get a look at the original Gurgler... It's lightweight, easy to cast and just does a number on any fish in the shallows that will attack anything at the surface that's struggling a bit...


Not to high jack this thread but yes the original gurgler was sparse. The clouser was supposed to be sparse. But i think most flies now are to catch fly fishermen .Lots of hair and fluff, the more the better. Now I'll agree there pretty and you can tie any version you'd like...
IMHO


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## eightwt (May 11, 2017)

On what hooks are you all tying gurglers for the salt? Thanks


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## patze003 (May 13, 2019)

Love them for stripers early morning.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

eightwt said:


> On what hooks are you all tying gurglers for the salt? Thanks


I use Gami B10s hooks. Light wire, sticky sharp and long shank and wide gap...


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## skinny_waters (Jan 3, 2018)

Hotlips is one of my go-to search patterns. Hard to beat the action that some nicely tied marabou can give you. Its easy to regulate the amount of flotation that the extra piece of foam can give you on the underside of the hook. I find that I can get this fly to sit at the proper level when compared to a regular gurgler pattern tied with foam on just the top of the hook.


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## RG Air (Nov 10, 2015)

black and purp gurglers. Some variations of ... Black fox or raccoon, one piece root beer flash, plamer a widely spaced (3 wraps) .5 inch EP tarantula brush under foam or a condensed black hackle, trim up then weed guard - size 2 C47SD less shank to work with but do doable. Gama SL11-3H size 6 more shank to work on. You can take these to the bass pond with results too. Second one was on standard blackfly tan / orange gurg. Prior to using i hookset broke off the black/purple one.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

lemaymiami said:


> For everyone that likes gurglers.... These days gurglers have gotten away from the original pattern that Jack Gartside came up with all those years ago... Be a good idea to get a look at the original Gurgler... It's lightweight, easy to cast and just does a number on any fish in the shallows that will attack anything at the surface that's struggling a bit...


Totally agree.


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## Scott Kor (Feb 3, 2019)

Wow, those are some nice Gurglers folks have posted. You asked if anyone would recommend any other top water flies. I personally like Crease flies better because I feel like I can pop them better without stripping them as hard and therefore moving them less. But that may be argued. Also, the crease fly was originally designed to be fished subsurface and will wobble when stripped. I find that I can do both if I want to, so I like the versatility. Last, I feel like they give a little better baitfish profile than a gurgler. Having said all this, I may change my mind after tying some of the gurgler examples shown on this thread.


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## Scott Kor (Feb 3, 2019)

RG Air said:


> black and purp gurglers. Some variations of ... Black fox or raccoon, one piece root beer flash, plamer a widely spaced (3 wraps) .5 inch EP tarantula brush under foam or a condensed black hackle, trim up then weed guard - size 2 C47SD less shank to work with but do doable. Gama SL11-3H size 6 more shank to work on. You can take these to the bass pond with results too. Second one was on standard blackfly tan / orange gurg. Prior to using i hookset broke off the black/purple one.


RG, That's some great fishing. Nice job!


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

Denduke said:


>


Diggin on dem skrimps


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

I like crease flies too. They cast great. 

Gurglers can cast great too, if they aren't overly dressed and sopping wet.


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> For everyone that likes gurglers.... These days gurglers have gotten away from the original pattern that Jack Gartside came up with all those years ago... Be a good idea to get a look at the original Gurgler... It's lightweight, easy to cast and just does a number on any fish in the shallows that will attack anything at the surface that's struggling a bit...


Scott Sanchez showed me his take on a gurgler when he was in Austin years back. Bit more of a shrimp profile on the foam. Casts great. Minimum line twist. Never had a red refuse it


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## OakHill63 (Mar 28, 2013)

MRichardson said:


> Diggin on dem skrimps


Ok....where can I buy some of thoses!!! Bad to the bone looking! Love the clear cup face!


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## OakHill63 (Mar 28, 2013)

Denduke said:


> View attachment 69708
> View attachment 69710
> For what it's worth here are some of my shrimp gurglers. They didn't pop big enough so added lil foam at the plastic disc in front.


How can I buy some of those? They look deadly!


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## TheAdamsProject (Oct 29, 2007)

I never go anywhere without small white gurglers. These were a little larger than we were expecting but that Mustad Neko hook size 4 still held. Pretty good show on an 8wt.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

TheAdamsProject said:


> I never go anywhere without small white gurglers. These were a little larger than we were expecting but that Mustad Neko hook size 4 still held. Pretty good show on an 8wt.


Interesting people never seem to throw gurglers (or any topwater fly) for larger tarpon -- I wonder at what size do people tend to make that switch? Do y'all think it's worth throwing a gurgler at a 50# fish? 70#? 30#?


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## AMiller (Mar 12, 2018)

Heading to FL this weekend to visit family. Hoping to put this gurgler in harms way.


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## TieOneOnJax (May 24, 2018)

AMiller said:


> View attachment 77254
> Heading to FL this weekend to visit family. Hoping to put this gurgler in harms way.


Cool fly. Did you use the same feather for the horn and the palmered marabou?


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## AMiller (Mar 12, 2018)

TieOneOnJax said:


> Cool fly. Did you use the same feather for the horn and the palmered marabou?


It’s all white feather. I didn’t have any marabou or flash so I used the tips of the feather for the horn and the fluffy down part for the body.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

Throwing gurglers at baby tarpon the last couple of weeks. I'm figuring out, you gotta have nerves of steel to watch the bite and then not set the hook for a good chunk. Pulled the hook out of the face of a number of fish. When you let it eat and let the fish turn with it, works out a lot better. Damn hard not to set the hook when you see that topwater eat!


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## jglidden (Feb 13, 2014)

PB trout on a @Pierson tied black gurg. Quite possibly the same one from the picture he posted earlier in the thread


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## AZ_squid (Mar 14, 2018)

Denduke said:


> View attachment 69708
> View attachment 69710
> For what it's worth here are some of my shrimp gurglers. They didn't pop big enough so added lil foam at the plastic disc in front.


Those things are sweet!


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## salt_fly (Apr 23, 2012)

MRichardson said:


> Diggin on dem skrimps


Where did you get those plastic discs or what did you make them out of?


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## redchaser (Aug 24, 2015)

I love tying and fishing Hot Lips style gurglers for redfish, bass, specks or whatever else will eat on top. They make a much louder "pop" than a standard gurgler, plus they are quick, easy and inexpensive to tie. I'll even ties some micro sized ones to use a bream bugs.


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## Steve_Mevers (Feb 8, 2013)

Pierson said:


> The gurgler remains my all time favorite fly fresh & salt. I have caught more fish and more species on a gurgler than any other fly. But maybe because its my confidence bait. Unlike a lot of other gurglers posted, I don't actually go for a high floating "popping" gurgler. I use a well proportioned tail & body to give it a full fishy profile with a lot of movement. I like mine to just float the surface and put off a nice wake. Rather than popping it, i give it three or four baby strips and then pause a couple seconds. It looks just like a tail hooked finger mullet nervously milling at the surface. That being said, it works best in very calm conditions because it is very subtle. Sometimes I will tie a more foam heavy gurg with less body material to actually get a good pop when I need my fly to be noticed. My two best snook have been on the subtle gurg and they launched clean out of the water when they ate it. Nothing beats a gurgler bite!
> 
> View attachment 72530


I agree, I like them to push a lot of water. I find different hooks make a big difference in how they sit in the water.


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## Mc_Fly (Dec 23, 2017)

Can’t wait to try this one


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## FlyBy (Jul 12, 2013)

Saw one tailer last Saturday, tide was a little short for most of my flats. He was in the grass next to a clear pool the boat was in. Tail would pop up, I'd throw the gurgler, tail would pop up ten feet away, he was on the move. Kept trying for a shot and saw a fish swim into the clear pool. I figured it was the same fish, threw the gurgler a foot in front of him and he spooked. Went back to watching the grass in case the tailer was still there. Heard a splash and the fish had come back and hit the fly that was floating with no movement. I don't think he ate but it wouldn't have made any difference, I wasn't looking at it. Strange that he spooked and then came back but that shows how much they like a gurgler.


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## Mc_Fly (Dec 23, 2017)

Gurgler from above works! Couple fatties from this evening. One longer than my forearm.


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## timogleason (Jul 27, 2013)

that is the fattest trout I've ever seen...


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## Mc_Fly (Dec 23, 2017)

timogleason said:


> that is the fattest trout I've ever seen...


They have been super chunky with all the mullet in the water. Caught several like that the last couple days.


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## Shallow Expectations (Jun 11, 2019)

crboggs said:


> I like crease flies too. They cast great.
> Gurglers can cast great too, if they aren't overly dressed and sopping wet.


I know alot of people who have trouble casting gurglers. Even my biggest gurglers seem to cast great.



bryson said:


> Interesting people never seem to throw gurglers (or any topwater fly) for larger tarpon -- I wonder at what size do people tend to make that switch? Do y'all think it's worth throwing a gurgler at a 50# fish? 70#? 30#?


I generally only throw at fish under 50lbs but have seen fish around 80lbs eat a gurgler. I'm sure the bigger ones will eat them but most people probably want flies with better hook up ratios and heavier gauge hooks when targeting bigger fish.


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## bryson (Jun 22, 2015)

Shallow Expectations said:


> I generally only throw at fish under 50lbs but have seen fish around 80lbs eat a gurgler. I'm sure the bigger ones will eat them but most people probably want flies with better hook up ratios and heavier gauge hooks when targeting bigger fish.


Good point -- thanks!


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## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Mc_Fly said:


> View attachment 82990
> View attachment 82988
> View attachment 82986
> Gurgler from above works! Couple fatties from this evening. One longer than my forearm.


Where'd you get that awesome trout wrap for your Bass???

Nice fish!


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## Shallow Expectations (Jun 11, 2019)

#2 and ready for the water. The tarpon don't stand a chance


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## Mc_Fly (Dec 23, 2017)

LowHydrogen said:


> Where'd you get that awesome trout wrap for your Bass???
> 
> Nice fish!


Haha! Nice, yeah a chunky one for sure.


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## TieOneOnJax (May 24, 2018)

This time of year I do well in the evenings with this color scheme. I don’t really throw it at the tailers in the grass but I always toss it at the ones slurping their way along the creeks.


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## Stormy Monday (Mar 27, 2019)

#10 hook, 8 pieces of bucktail for a tail and a little cream dubbing makes a gurgler that can be cast pretty easily on a 4 weight...


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