Fishing Wiggle Tail Trout Flies and How To Attach Them

When it comes to trying something new, not many anglers like to try the ‘extremes’ so to speak. For instance the squirmy worm… So when it comes to fishing wiggle tails for trout, some anglers may turn their nose up at it, but wiggle tail trout flies certainly work and will definitely increase your catch rate!

Originally designed for pike anglers, wiggle tails have actually been around for a number of years, but have recently seen a resurgence due to lots of YouTube exposure. However, Paolo Pacchiarin’s wiggle tails come in all sorts of sizes and, some of those are perfect for trout.

Wiggle Tail Trout Flies

On a recent trip to Grafham water, Steve Carew (Fulling Mill’s Technical Manager) and I took a selection of new product to try out, including the Gold, Silver and Black holographic medium wiggle tails.

Steve and I whipped together a few wiggle tail trout flies to try out, including a variation of a firm favourite among us both, the Humungous booby. We tackled up on heavy tackle, a 10lb Fluorocarbon leader and sinking lines, Steve opting for a fast intermediate and myself, a Di 3 40+, hoping to drop them through the top layers.

As we motored out across the middle of the lake in near perfect conditions, we kept our eyes peeled for fish cruising close to the surface. Heading out further from the bank, the odd fish spooked from the noise and motion of the motoring boat, so we slowed and looked out for pods.

After location what looked to be a large shoal of stockies, we turned the boat and started to fish, casting and drifting downwind on the lookout of more surface action. It was near enough third cast Steve had a follow to his Humungous booby, but the fast glass didn’t bed in enough to drag the fly under the surface to provoke the take.

Just two minutes later a fast retrieve after a 10-second countdown induced a take and another the very next cast – unfortunately, both just nipping the tail. Being a competition angler you look for ways to convert these takes into fish in the net, so I slowed the retrieve to a steady hand over hand (or roly-poly) style and within a few casts the line locked up and I’d landed the first fish of the day.

The rest of the drift was history, with over a dozen fish boated and released, and everything falling to the Humungous wiggle tail booby. Throughout our short morning session, we landed well over twenty fish with many double headers mixed in!

One thing we did notice was that it seemed the slower retrieve and added sink rate of the fly line gave the fly a steadier motion through the water, giving a more realistic wiggle to the tail, rather than forcing it to move when retrieved quicker. So it pays to play around with the retrieve to get the best and most irresistible movement possible from your wiggle tail trout flies.

New for 2018!

For 2018 we’ve introduced a range of wiggle tail trout flies such as those used above. The small range includes three patterns incorporating the medium sized silver wiggle tail, which is attached using the removable clips. This means the tails can be replaced when worn or swapped with other colours. Ideal for stocky bashing or targeting fly feeders on reservoirs! Check them out here.

How to Tie the Wiggle Tails to the hook?

One of the most asked questions we get is on how to secure the wiggle tails to the hook. Each pack of wiggle tails comes supplied with a small bag of links, of which, one is bound to the hook and the other used to attach the wiggle tail. Each link has a small split ring at the back which is used to snap the two together. This non-fixed link allows the tail to move freely and give it its irresistible action and also allow the tails to be swapped or replaced if needed.

To view the range of Wiggle Tails, visit the Fulling Mill Website.