Wooly Bugger vs. Slumpbuster

[littlej81]

Which is better? Why?

[AaronJasper]

Wow thats a tough one! I love slumpbusters, but I have caught literally tons of trout on Wooly Buggers. I might have to give the edge to the Slumpbuster, only bcause of the Body Braid. It gives the fly the shiny translucent eyoneffect that the naturals have. Anyone that knows me knows how much I like contrast in a fly. The shiny under body matched up with the squirrel fur wing and tail are a perfect combination. Also, there are so many combination of fur, body braid, beads and other flashy materials. You can also throw in a collar of hackle instead of the squirrel fur collar.

Let's hear others opinions on this one... I am sure we could build one awesome streamer with some input from others...

[Magnet]

Zoo-Couger by Kelly Galoup is a killer too!

[SherpaB]

when it comes to streamers (and I have done a lot of it - in both fresh and salt water) color and retrieve are the most important aspects for me. the first thing that is important to me is color. the fish has to see it. movement of the materials is important but I rely on 4 major colors (plus a few others) over any particular pattern: yellow white black olive (gray and chartreuse are also important). once i get fish responding to a color, then i work on the retrieves and presentations(these vary from spot to spot-but I go with dead drift slow, medium and fast in that order so as not to spook fish).
Regarding patterns: there are 5 or 6 general patterns with me when I am streamer fishing: Wooley Bugger/worm, Soft Hackle Streamer, Zoo Cougar, Butt Monkey. I have a couple slump busters but honestly I dont think its a whole lot better than the ones I am using right now...its very good dont get me wrong. My #1 trout streamer is the soft hackle streamer. It ridiculously simple (wound marabou and mallard flank) but it moves very well and just plain gets me fish, the real deal is that I have a lot of confidence in the pattern. Its my #1 streamer out of the box bar none.

[Duck-butt Chucker]

I use an extremely limited arsenal of flies (literally only 6 dries and 1 streamer pattern) since I don't have much money, am still in college, and still catch a shitload of fish even with only a small number of patterns...that being said the only streamer pattern I carry is a size 8 Grizzly Slumpbuster...reason I use this over the bugger is the action imparted on the fly by the squirrel tail gives it more lifelike movement underwater when swam like a wounded minnow, twitched just off the bottom like a dying minnow, or stripped in really quickly across the current (to facilitate a reactionary strike) so accordingly (again based on the action imparted by the squirrel tail) the slumpbuster makes a superior baitfish imitation of the two which I why I carry it over the bugger. The Bugger is good because it's more versatile and in turn can imitate a wider array of forage (from leeches, to crayfish, to even stone fly nymphs) so it's better all-around than the Slumpbuster, but pound for pound again I go with the Slumpbuster as it's the better Minnow imitation of the two and this is what I think the majoriy of the time trout hitting either of these flies, regardless of the color, actually interpret it as.

[littlej81]

Currently, I am in love with the wooly bugger. I have been tying mine similar to Rich Osthoff's soft hackle variation. I simply replace his hen neck with hen saddle, so essentially this is the same fly. The hen saddle looks sloppy when not in the water, but it breathes like none other when in the water. I like it over the breathing action of squirrel and rabbit. The marabou tail finishes the job.

As far as contrast is concerned, I dub my bodies and use two hen saddle feathers as hackle. Doing this, you have the ability to use flashy dubbing if you like, and since the body is divided into two parts, you could use two completely different dubbings. Having said this, I rely mostly on a black tail, a peacock ice dub body, and grizzly hen saddle. For giggles I sometimes add some round rubber in the tail and as legs.

[sholgate]

I know this is totally a cop-out, but I switch back and forth on both all of the time. Slower water the bigger seems a little better, faster water the buster seems a little better. Each have produced many fish for me.

[VTflyfishing]

Bugger is my choice.

[AuSableTrophyhunter]

The Slumbuster has a profile like a minnow. The Wooly Bugger is that and more. A Slumpbuster is merely a weighted Zonker. Put a conehead on a Zonker and voila, Slumpbuster. In truth though it is less durable, a Zonker is better than a Slumpbuster when you are targetting pressured fish or fish in thin, clear water or when you want to imitate the natural minnow type forage. When you want to trigger aggression from a BIG trout that is not feeding then I like big ,obnoxious flies with a lot of action that cause shoulder pain from casting them for hours. I have a streamer that I call the "Rotator Cuff Tearer".

[Silver Creek]

I go with the wooly bugger. Easier to tie, materials are cheaper and more versatile.

Tied in black, it can be a leech. In brown, it can be a crayfish. With flash on the flanks and along the tail. it can be a minnow. It has no wrong side up so if it happens to turn over, the fly profile is still correct.

The best fly argument essentially is the answer to the question, "Which fly would you least like to give up for life?" For me the answer between the two is the wooly bugger.