Good Luck Chuck

[Old Hat]

I have posted this before long ago. I lost a lot of photos recently when my external hard drive took a dive. I guess you are supposed to have two of these now. So I have been retaking pictures of some of the flies. Most of you may think I have fallen from my rocker as this pattern is not very conventional and most seem to think it fits as a "bumble" style fly for stillwater. This pattern has been in my box for many years. It is not your general searcher type pattern but I fish it in specific water type. I don't swing flies very much but this pattern was designed specifically for that purpose and originally for steelhead but has proven itself over and over again for trout.

This pattern is for swinging. It prefers fast, shallower riffles. It thrives in that spot just when a nice run is beginning to become the riffle and the water has started to accelerate and become shallower. The velocity needs to be enough to keep the fibers of the construction collapsed around the body. It fishes very well in the #10-#14 size range. The woodchuck hair is a very underutilized material in my opinion and is wonderfully translucent when wet. It is an interesting hair but can be limited in use. It does not make the best dubbing material unless used as below.

I have played with other colors but this is hands down the most productive. I still don't know what the fish are taking it for. It doesn't seem to be hatch specific at all. I used to think caddis but I'm not sold on that idea. It seems to work anytime, not specific to any hatch, but like I mentioned before more specific to water type.

The Good Luck Chuck.



Hook: 2x-3x long heavy nymph hook
Thread: black
Hackle: speckled badger rooster or Coq de Leon for larger sizes
Tail: woodchuck guard hair tips, bleached
Body: woodchuck hair, bleached at the rear, olive in the front (This hair is the medium length fibers from a woodchuck skin. Woodchuck has guard hairs, a medium length fine textured hair and an undercoat that is woolen like. The hair you want is the hair that is seen as the white band on a natural skin. Separate out the medium length fibers and keep the tips aligned. These will be placed and spun in a dubbing loop to form the body. One of those specific hair clips or paper bundle clips help here. The hair fibers should be long enough to reach the rear of the hook and into the tail a bit.)

The patten will be very scraggly and seem overly full. It looks too full and like it will get in the way of the hook point. This has never been an issue. Strikes are strong and I have never felt like this has been a problem. The hair is not as course as it looks in the photo and will collapse down nicely. Below is the same fly soaked. You can see the form it takes while swinging and the color change that occurs. It takes on a very nice form, with a translucent depth and an attractive food stuff color. Again, I'm not sure what it is taken for. Originally when I would tie it in sizes #6-10 (which I still do) for steelhead I was thinking October Caddis. That may be the case. By the way, I catch a lot of trout on those larger sizes as well when I'm swinging it for steelhead.

[ScottP]

Carl,

That is real nice; one buggy looking fly.

Regards,
Scott

[Jerry G]

Carl I have found the appeal of woodchuck when using a small streamer called the Llama. With this fly the woodchuck under fur and guard hair are tied in so as to keep them at the top of the hook shank as a light wing and veil. A tail of hen grizzly, body of red floss with gold tinsel wrap and the fly is finished off with a full wrap of hen grizzly at the front. Your tie sent me to the vise so as to try encircling the shank with the under fur. I'll try a few other body wraps but my first thought was just using gold tinsel. Hen grizzly as with the Llama finished the fly off. Lots of options here but that wood chuck under fur as you stated just doesn't get used often enough.

Regards, Jerry

[William Anderson]

Carl, that is a really interesting looking material, one of the few I don't believe I have, certainly never fooled with. Really nice effect and cool looking fibers. You explained how to fish it, and the construction sounds like it will make quite a disturbance.

[DOUGSDEN]

Carl,
Beautiful pattern for sure and might I add that it has smallmouth bass written all over it as well! We have got to see you tie this bad boy! I esp. like the picture of it well soaked! That's pretty cool!
Impressed D.

[Old Hat]

Glad you guys enjoyed it. Thanks for the comments.

Jerry that sounds like a nice pattern. A streamer I assume. That is how you usually see the woodchuck used, as a wing material. I used to tie the Good Luck Chuck both full body like this and tried dubbing it more tightly. The full body version is the only way I tie it now.

A couple years ago I bought whole woodchuck skins, one bleached and one dyed olive. I have enough for a lifetime now. I haven't done this very often but this pattern has served me well enough that I was tired of buying little 1" squares of it.

Doug - I fish for smallmouth quite a bit in the summer, but have never tried this pattern for them. I will have to give it a go in some larger sizes and see how it does. Never tied it on a bass hook either.