Bug-Eyed Boodle

Bug Eyed Boodle

I can credit my father-in-law for first putting a fly rod in my hands at the age of 22. I had fallen in love with chasing the local bass and trout with gear, but fly-fishing was an enigma that eluded me until I sat in his back yard waving a custom built fiberglass 6 wt with a pflueger medalist attached to it. I was just some kid that his daughter had dragged in through the door a few weeks earlier, but he perked up when I mentioned fishing. Bill and I have had many an adventure since that day, see, he is the father figure in my life, and there is no better place to talk about life's triumphs and struggles than while laying down big attractors for willing brook and cutthroat trout. I place an extremely high value on my time fishing with Bill.

The phone rang. "We are going to Idaho next monday to fish." There was no question that I was game for that trip, so I started to do some research. Snake River cutthroat were on the menu so I was immediately thinking that I needed a whole bunch of the flashy/foamy/gaudy stuff that only hungry cutts dare put in their mouths. I also happened to be on a total streamer kick, so I wrapped up some Mongrel Meats, and Cheech Leeches. Because of the time investment of tying up big articulated streamers, I decided to tie some bugs that took less time to tie, but that would be something different from your typical wooly bugger. Out came something that looked OK, so I wrapped up about 6 or 7 and called it quits.

Streamer eating Cutthroat

On the stream; the gray rolling clouds and light drizzle may as well have been a neon sign that said "THROW STREAMERS.... THROW STREAMERS." I lashed a Cheech Leech to my trusty 5 wt, and Bill Started out with a Blingnobyl Ant as we fished the first couple of holes in the river. The first hole the cheech swam through caught the attention of a very meaty fish, but he peeled off at the last second... Too flashy. On went the mongrel, and it was game on for the rest of the day. Bill, or "Royal Coachman" as is his CB handle, was intrigued by this new fangled streamerness and gave me that look like "hey... gimme a streamer!"

Ol' Royal Coachman with a Cutt

Little did Bill know that he would be the field tester for my new streamer concoction. I gave him one to try, and he ended up pulling fish out of just about everywhere. It swam great, was durable, and the fish were going bonkers over it. After about 5 fish, I finally told Bill that it had never been fished before and that he would have the honor of naming it. Without hesitation, while releasing yet another slab of a fish, he matter-of-factly looked up and declared, "Bug Eyed Boodle." Almost like it wasn't even a question... So the Bug Eyed Boodle was born that rainy morning in Idaho, and it has been a staple in my box ever since.

Recipe:
Hook: Allen E601 #2
Eyes: Allen Brass Barbell w/ Eyes 4.8 mm
Thread: UTC 140 to match color of fly
Body: Holographic Cactus Chenille to match color of fly
Collar: Spirit River UV2 Schalppen
Overwing/body: Olive arctic fox tail hair

Note: This hook is MEAN... Meant to be an egg hook, I have been using it for inverted minnow type flies and have been very impressed.

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