Ultra Zug Bug 12/15/2018 Photo Album

The ultra zug bug has evolved into one of my top fish producers over the last six years, and I have little to add beyond the information provided in previous posts. For a materials list go to my post of 01/31/2012. A nice description of how I stumbled into increased dependence on the ultra zug bug is contained in my post of 12/07/2014. If you wish to tie this simple but effective fly, access my post of 11/04/2015, as this contains a paragraph with detailed step by step instructions.

Close-up of Ultra Zug Bug

During 2018 I offered the ultra zug bug to fish throughout the season, and I rarely regretted the choice. The peacock dubbed wet fly performed admirably and was often combined with a beadhead hares ear nymph or salvation nymph. The zug bug rarely took a back seat to my other top producers, but I would still rate it third if asked to rank by number of fish caught. I can tie an ultra zug bug in half the time required for a salvation nymph or hares ear nymph, and that is an important consideration.

A Batch of Ultra Zug Bugs

I counted my residual supply of UZB’s and determined that I held twenty-three carryovers in my boxes. I tied an additional forty to increase my holdings to sixty for the start of the 2019 season. My one criticism of this fly is the tendency of the thread to unravel at the head just behind the bead. For this reason I tried some Solarez UV flex resin on the first five, but application from the tube was difficult to regulate, so I abandoned this step for the remaining flies produced. Instead I was very meticulous in my application of head cement to the entire band of thread, and hopefully this will improve the durability of this valuable fly.