Hook: Size 10 or 12 Kamasan B175, B170 or B160.
Butt: Flat silver tinsel.
Rib: Oval silver.
Body: Seals fur: 'Ant black', or black.
Body Hackle: Furnace hen.
Shoulder Hackle: Yellow GP body feather.
Head: Natural deer hair.
Thread: Black UTC 70 or 140 Denier.
''It's a right old bugger's muddle'', or so my sister says when things get messy...
Controlled chaos, I like to think. Basically a muddled 'Crippler', and like the Crippler series, takes its colour-scheme cues from the classic wets. I'm tending lately to omit tails from many of my patterns; I've no particular aversion to tails, but for me, I think that quite often - and especially with this style of fly - the 'work' is done in front of the bend in terms of presence, movement and colour. A tail on the 'Bugger's Muddle' series seems superfluous, with the elongated shoulder hackle in the form of a G.P. body feather providing some visual balance.
The 'Buggered Kate' has been an instant success, taking a good few fish on 2012's trip to Loch Eye and Orkney. Rapidly becoming a favourite on Malham Tarn too. Perfect for lochs, and upland waters, such as Stocks, Brening etc.