Flies That Were Too Good At Their Job - The Killer Bugs

by Richard Fieldhouse

Morning,

"There's something quite ironic about a fly pattern which was so effective that it almost wrote itself out of existence."

Picture this: It's the 1930s on the River Avon in Wiltshire. Frank Sawyer – the legendary riverkeeper who'd go on to create the Pheasant Tail Nymph – has a problem.

His stretch of chalk stream is heaving with grayling. Not the "oh, how lovely, a grayling" kind of situation we dream of today. No, in the 1930s, this was frowned upon and considered a full-blown infestation.

Back then, grayling were classed as vermin. Gentleman anglers wanted trout and only trout, and it was Sawyer's job to remove them from the river.

TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read

I know that some of you are pressed for time and save our emails to read later in the day, by this time our selections are sometimes sold out (I get lots of emails from customers pointing this out to me).

This email is all about the Killer Bug in its various forms (Sawyer's & Utah), and how effective they are of clearing a river of Grayling!

We have an offer on both patterns while stocks last (we've only a few of each selection remaining):

Both of these patterns work on exactly the same principle - they don't try to be realistic. They're impressionistic. That translucent, body moving along the bottom just feels right to grayling. Like comfort food for fish.

*** Grab yours today before we run out! ***

He tried netting and a few other methods, but nothing worked efficiently enough.

So he sat down at his vice and created something devastatingly simple: copper wire for weight, a bit of his wife's darning wool, and a hook. That's it. Three materials. No fancy dubbing, no exotic feathers, no complicated techniques.

He called it the Killer Bug:

And it lived up to its name.

According to his grandson Nick, the Killer Bug out-fished netting, out-fished electro-fishing, out-fished everything. Sawyer would work his way down the river, systematically clearing grayling from his beat.

The secret? That specific hue when wet. It imitates a freshwater shrimp (Gammarus pulex) perfectly – and on chalk streams, shrimps are like grayling crack cocaine. The copper wire gives it just enough weight to trundle along the bottom where the grayling feed, and that translucent body triggers something primal.

Here's the twist, though: Sawyer himself came to regret his success.

Later in his career, he softened towards grayling. He'd realised they were actually magnificent fish. But by then, the damage was done. The Killer Bug had earned its reputation, and the original Chadwick's 477 wool had been discontinued in 1965, turning the pattern into legend.

Fast forward to modern day...

Some clever Tenkara anglers in Salt Lake City decided to reimagine Sawyer's weapon of mass destruction. They kept the concept – simple, translucent wool over bright wire underbody – but modernised the materials, and the Utah Killer Bug was born:

When wet, it glows with an almost supernatural pinkish hue. It's like the Killer Bug on performance-enhancing drugs.

And guess what? It's just as deadly.

Anglers on both sides of the pond report the same experience: "Why do I fish anything else?" It catches grayling. It catches trout. It catches fish that shouldn't fall for something so simple, but they do. Every. Single. Time.

Our Full Killer Bug Selection contains both styles of bug, Sawyer's Killer Bug & Utah Killer Bug and includes 24 flies in total.

The thing is, both these patterns work on the same principle: they don't try to be realistic. They're impressionistic. That translucent body moving along the bottom just feels right to grayling. Like comfort food for fish.

You can tie a Sawyer's Killer Bug the traditional way – just copper wire and wool, no thread, held in your hand as Sawyer did. Or you can go full Utah – pink wire, oyster wool, maybe add a bead if you're feeling fancy. Either way, you're fishing with 90 years of refined grayling-catching technology.

The irony? These days, we use them to find grayling, not exterminate them. The fly, designed as a means of control, has become a tool of pursuit. The vermin of the 1930s are now our "lady of the stream," and the Killer Bug has gone from executioner to matchmaker - I think Frank would be pleased.

Image of Sawyer(ish) Killer Bug Selection

Sawyer(ish) Killer Bug Selection

£18.00 £19.20

Image of Utah Killer Bug Selection

Utah Killer Bug Selection

£18.00 £19.20

P.S. - The original Chadwick's 477 wool is basically unobtainium now, but modern substitutes work just as well. The grayling, thankfully, can't tell the difference. They're too busy getting caught.

All our Killer Bug Selections are deadly collections of bugs, all inspired by Frank Sawyer's creations. These nymphs are great all-year-round flies and work especially well for Winter Grayling.

Here are the details for each of our selections:

* We only have very limited numbers of these - less than 20 of each selection to be exact - so you will need to be quick if you want one! *

 

Go on, you know you want to!

 

Re-Printed & Ready For Grayling Season

We've just reprinted the 5th in the series of our FLY: books - our homage to the Observer book of my youth - this one is very apt for now, it all about Fishing For Grayling.

In this book, you will discover the techniques, flies, casts, watercraft and how to approach fishing for Grayling. This pocket-sized book will give you all the information you need to effectively target Grayling in UK rivers.

Grayling fishing is now on the up and is a great way to extend your fishing season - it's also my favourite quarry and I always look forward to the colder months in search of Grayling.

The book is now available again - and it's still only £9.99

***Grab your copy today***

Tight lines.

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