Killer BugFrank Sawyer's Killer Bug is a great fly. Since I started tying this fly a couple years ago it has been my most productive fly by far. Last year, almost half my fish were taken with it (the year before it was just over half). What makes it even better is that it is very easy to tie and uses inexpensive materials (at least the way I tie it) just some knitting yarn, some copper wire and a Prismacolor marker. The grayling killer bug, as I believe it was originally called, was developed in the 1930s by Frank Sawyer, the same man who developed the pheasant tail nymph. At that time, Sawyer worked as a river keeper on the river Avon. As part of his duties, he was to rid the river of grayling. According to his grandson, Nick Sawyer, who runs Sawyer Nymphs in the UK, the fly that Frank developed (which immitates the gammarus pulex - what we call a scud) was more effective than netting or electro-fishing. I can believe it. 
One of Terrence's first fish
I guess my comment above about inexpensive materials should be explained a bit, in that Sawyer tied his fly with a yarn that is no longer produced - Chadwick's 477. That yarn is now one of those almost unobtainable fly-tying materials that has achieve a near-mythical status. I would say more than polar bear hair or seal fur, more than the urine-stained fox fur for the Hendrickson (though maybe not more than the ram's scrotal hair that is, well, indispensable for the Tups Indispensable). Chadwick's 477 hasn't been produced for probably 40 years now, and when the rare card is auctioned on ebay, it goes for over $100. Fortunately, there are substitutes. Veniard "killer bug yarn" is one, but as far as I know there's only one fly shop in the US that carries it. Lathkill Fly Fishing in the UK has one also, but I don't know of even one fly shop in the States that has it. I've found another substitute yarn.
I have been unable to find a yarn that shows the pinkish-tan color when it is wet. I've seen photos that suggest the Veniard yarn does, but the package I bought stayed the same greyish brown. The Lathkill yarn I bought also stayed tan when wet, with no pinkish hue visible. I've also read comments on various forums that suggest that any yarn will work. I'm convinced the people who say that do so only because they haven't tried one that does turn a pinkish tan. (A lot like the people who say tenkara is just cane pole fishing.) I think Sawyer was absolutely correct when he said the the successful attraction is due to the color.
The fly is tied with copper wire instead of tying thread. The copper wire provides a little bit of extra weight, but not nearly as much as a lead underbody or even a beadhead. (With an Ayu or 11' Iwana and a light line, you can still tell it's a weighted fly, though.) I believe Sawyer used a varnished copper wire that had a slightly reddish brown color, but it seems you can't get that color anymore. I just use regular copper wire.
Scuds can swim - fast - and for a time I fished the killer bug with quick tugs to mimic a scud's swimming action. Having fished with a truly Hi-Vis Fluorocarbon level line, and having seen strikes that I'm sure I wasn't seeing before, I now think a dead-drift approach may in fact be a better technique. I don't know that quick tugs to give action to the fly causes more strikes, but it certainly causes your line to bounce around, and if your line is bouncing around it is very hard to see the very subtle indications of many strikes. Also, when the line is bouncing, there are times that it is slack, and a fish can spit out the fly long before you can take the slack out of the line with your next tug. Perhaps slight, gradual pulls are better than a dead drift, but I'm pretty sure that bouncy tugs aren't.
Wild brookies seem to like them, too.
Killer Bug Step by Step
1. Because copper wire slips pretty easily when wrapped, I start by just touching the hook shank with super glue. I find the brush applicator works better. The red colored copper wire I use with the Utah Killer Bugs isn't as slick and with it I find the super glue is not necessary.
2. I now start the copper wire at the eye, trapping it just like you would with tying thread. I wrap one layer from the eye to just before the bend.
3. Start the yarn like you would start thread behind the hook eye. This photo was taken just before clipping off the tag end. Wrap to the bend, back to the eye and then back again to the bend. I try to untwist the yarn, which is two ply, so the the plies lay side by side as I am wrapping. You need to wrap tightly so the yarn doesn't start sliding around after a few fish.
4. When you get to the bend, trap the yarn with one wrap of wire, then do a five turn whip finish with the wire (four turns if you are tying on a size 14 scud hook). Tighten the wire very gently and smoothly or it will break. When it is tightened, then break off the wire tag end. Clip the yarn tag end last.
5. While the fly is still in the vise, color it thoroughly with the Sand Prismacolor marker. It will look brown initially, but as the color sinks in, the fly will take on a pinkish tan look, which intensifies when the fly is wet. Coloring it roughly with the marker also raises loose fibers, which create a bit of a halo effect, and give the impression legs.The yarn used for the Utah Killer bug is darker and pinker, and the marker is not used. Although it looks quite a bit lighter than the TenkaraBum Killer Bug when dry, it definitely takes on a pinkish tan hue when wet. (And the TenkaraBum Killer Bug fades with use because the marker is not 100% waterproof.)
Utah Killer BugThe Utah Killer Bug is an adaption made by the Tenkara Guides in Salt Lake City, UT. In an attempt to simplify the tying process, they settled on a yarn that does not require the Prismacolor marker. The yarn they chose (Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift "Oyster") is darker and quite a bit pinker than the yarn I use. When wet, both yarns darken and both show a definite pinkish tan hue. Interestingly, the Prismacolor marker I use is not completely waterproof, so after a few uses, the yarn loses much of it's brown color and bugs tied with the two yarns end up looking similar.I do not tie the Utah Killer bugs quite like the Tenkara Guides do. I tie them just the same way I tie the regular Killer Bugs. I find my way much simpler than the Tenkara Guides' way, except of course for not having to use the marker. I use red wire rather than pink because my supplier does not carry the pink wire, and I dispense with the pink thread because it just isn't needed.
If you have questions about the killer bug, or anything else concerning tenkara or tenkara flies, please go the the contact us page. Buy Sawyer's Killer BugsAll TenkaraBum flies are tied by me, a tenkara angler, for tenkara anglers. Flies are $12 per half dozen. Most small items can be shipped $3.00 for your entire order. Large, heavy items and books will require additional postage.
I've always tied my killer bugs on size 12 hooks (currently the Daiichi D1560), but several anglers have reported doing very well with Killer Bugs tied on size 14 scud hooks. Also, a recent poll on the Tenkara USA forum suggested that many tenkara anglers prefer to fish with barbless hooks. Killer Bugs and Utah killer bugs are available on size 12 Daiichi 1560 nymph hooks, size 14 Daiichi 1190 barbless hooks and size 14 Daiichi 1120 heavy scud hooks.
Purchases of one dozen or more flies will be shipped in a minimalist 6 compartment fly box. This box, which is the box I used until I bought a Morell box, protects the flies during shipping, fits in your pocket or on a lanyard and will hold three dozen flies, more than you'll for a day on your favorite stream.
TenkaraBum Killer Bug - $12 per half dozen TenkaraBum Utah Killer Bug - $12 per half dozen PaymentPayment is through PayPal but you don't need to have a PayPal account. You can use your credit card. PayPal payments will be made to chris at tenkarabum dot com. Credit card statements will read CM Stewart.ShippingDomestic shipping is $3, and most small items can be shipped together for a flat $3 fee.International First Class postage is covered by the flat $3 shipping charge added to all orders. If international customers would prefer their shipment sent via priority mail, which should be at least a little faster, I will do so. International Priority Mail Surcharge Return from Killer Bug to Tenkara Flies Return from Killer Bug to TenkaraBum Home |
