Gray Ugly

Materials

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Hook Daiichi 1180 #8-18
Thread Danville Gray 6/0
Body Peacock Herl
Ribbing Fine Silver Wire
Tail Grizzly Hackle Fibers
Butt Silver Tinsel
Hackle Grizzly Hackle, Fore and Aft

Gray Ugly

Like the Sierra Bright Dot, the Gray Ugly is a Fore and Aft pattern in which there are a Front and Rear Grizzly hackle. The body is peacock herl. Grizzly Hackle and Peacock Herl, what could go wrong? Not much is known about the Gray Ugly except that it was a popular pattern in the 1940’s and 50’s. Most likely, it was an adaptation of the Renegade pattern from 1930. The smaller sizes #14-18 might represent midge clusters but the larger sizes #8-12 is just a general attractor that looks super buggy. These larger sizes work well in both stillwaters and streams.

Recent Variation

Ken Miller of Chatsworth, CA created a variation using a beadhead body and golden tippet tails. According to Ken, he’s had great success in the Sierra with this fly. You probably won’t find any Gray Ugly patterns in fly shops but it’s a simple pattern to tie and great keep in the flybox.

Variations

Beaded Gray Ugly
Beaded Gray Ugly

Beaded Gray Ugly

Hook Daiichi 1180, sizes 12-14
Thread Uni-thread Gray 8/0
Body Peacock Herl and Caddis Green Glass Bead
Tail Golden Pheasant Tippets
Hackle Grizzly hackle, Fore and Aft