San Juan Worms
- Thread starter Cliff
- Start date
I fish them a lot this time of year, and that is a good pattern to get started back into tying, being relatively easy to tie.
They are great for: winter fishing, rising river, and dropping river. And they do pretty much work year round. Lots of Annelids live in the transitions zone between the rivers edge and bank, so they often end up in the drift. When the river rises or drops, even more so.
Personally I fish (tungsten) beaded, and mostly on jig hook but also on scud hooks.
Some tips:
-try different colors and color combos. While the classic red worm still works, Pinks, tans, purples all work alone too, or in combo with each other and red.
-there are a few materials that work well other than vernille. Squirmy wormy (pain to tie with, but does work well), pearl core braid, and micro squiggle worms.
Here are some videos to check out:
I tie this one on a jig hook, with some lead wraps up by the bead. Put the bead on, insert the squiggle worm as in the video, and then put the hook in the vice. 8 turns .15" lead wire and jam up next to bead, cover lead wraps with thread, super glue, then jam the squiggle worm up to the back of the lead wraps. Dub the rest with ice dub and whip finish.
These things work really well, but the material is a pain to tie with. And, it is not very durable. Leave em in your box for a few warm sunny days and they disintegrate and fish chomp the tails off all the time. But, they do work much better than the regular vernille IMO.
Good luck with your tying, let us know if you need any help or have any more questions!
They are great for: winter fishing, rising river, and dropping river. And they do pretty much work year round. Lots of Annelids live in the transitions zone between the rivers edge and bank, so they often end up in the drift. When the river rises or drops, even more so.
Personally I fish (tungsten) beaded, and mostly on jig hook but also on scud hooks.
Some tips:
-try different colors and color combos. While the classic red worm still works, Pinks, tans, purples all work alone too, or in combo with each other and red.
-there are a few materials that work well other than vernille. Squirmy wormy (pain to tie with, but does work well), pearl core braid, and micro squiggle worms.
Here are some videos to check out:
I tie this one on a jig hook, with some lead wraps up by the bead. Put the bead on, insert the squiggle worm as in the video, and then put the hook in the vice. 8 turns .15" lead wire and jam up next to bead, cover lead wraps with thread, super glue, then jam the squiggle worm up to the back of the lead wraps. Dub the rest with ice dub and whip finish.
These things work really well, but the material is a pain to tie with. And, it is not very durable. Leave em in your box for a few warm sunny days and they disintegrate and fish chomp the tails off all the time. But, they do work much better than the regular vernille IMO.
Good luck with your tying, let us know if you need any help or have any more questions!
EmergingFisher
Life of the Party
Consider tying them with wire - adds a little weight, increases durability, and a little bit of sparkle.
A pink or red chenille san juan worm is still a very productive fly, especially in high water.
FYI, that mini squiggle worm might be considered "bait", and couldn't be used on water you can't use soft plastics on, at least in Oregon. I don't have an issue with gummy worms, I use the squirmy all the time, but how the fly is constructed can matter to F&W.
FYI, that mini squiggle worm might be considered "bait", and couldn't be used on water you can't use soft plastics on, at least in Oregon. I don't have an issue with gummy worms, I use the squirmy all the time, but how the fly is constructed can matter to F&W.
I don’t tie flies so can’t help there, but I do fish these for both browns and rainbows here in Oregon. I have both the chenille and the soft plastic style. Both work. I’ve been transitioning to the chenille as I then don’t have to worry about whether plastics are banned.
I primarily use while EN fishing with a heavy point nymph, but certainly it would also work using an indicator. For me it’s just another excellent fly to have in the arsenal.
I primarily use while EN fishing with a heavy point nymph, but certainly it would also work using an indicator. For me it’s just another excellent fly to have in the arsenal.
ive tied and fished a few
I like the pig stickers…ive tied and fished a few
Thought I was up to date on most patterns. What the hell is going on bottom left corner?
ive tied and fished a few
San Juan and squirmy worms are the least dependable of any fly that I have ever used. They work insanely well on some rivers, some of the time. However, they often don't work at all. They don't work well on any of my local rivers, so I don't keep them stocked.
Fishing throughout the USA and Australia, wooly buggers and hare's ears have been my most dependable flies.
Fishing throughout the USA and Australia, wooly buggers and hare's ears have been my most dependable flies.
Bambooflyguy
Life of the Party
I fish San Juan/bloodworms under an indicator in lakes especially this time of the year. Winter seems like a lot of midges are in larvae stages. Squirmy wormies get gooey/sticky over time so not a viable option, in my opinion. I tie mine without any thread. I start some medium red wire on the hook, trap wrap the red chenille then advance the red wire up by the hook eye and wrap with the wire and done!
R
RyRy82
Guest
So my local fly shop sells bait?
A simple wire worm is about as easy as it gets to tie, and they work great in high or dropping water on rivers. Wire is great stuff for worms. It creates its own segmentation, it provides a little flash, and it even serves as its own weight. I mostly just wrap wire up the hook, then secure it all by fashioning a clitellum from brownish thread and covering the thread with a little UV resin. Makes it look cool and adds a little contrast, not to mention a little bit of "realistic" effect (which probably makes little difference to the fish).
I appreciate the simplicity and practicality of tying wire worms threadless. The wire really does hold itself on a hook shank very well, and without the need for thread, you could twist them up in the field should you need to "match a hatch." When you can see worms on the bank, that's a really good time to fish them....
Yes. To all of that.Picking an easy fly to get back into tyingHow many fish these, and do you use them dead drift under an indicator? Or under a dry fly? Do you tie them naked or beaded? Thanks.
Cliff
I like those two tone ones!ive tied and fished a few
