by Bob Reece
They may not be valued by all fly fishers, but aquatic worms play an important role in the food webs of many trout waters. Imitations of them can produce exceptional fishing throughout the year. Their abundance in some of the waters that I fish drove me to create my Glo Worm.
My objective was to create an annelid that could be effectively fished in indicator and tight-line riggings, but also as a dropper. To work as a dropper it needed to have sufficient weight, since I would not be able to add split shot. Tandem tungsten beads help the pattern descend quickly. By placing them at the midpoint of the shank, the hook is heavily keeled during its drift. This helps reduce snags as it glides over the substrate.
While the weight was important I also wanted a smooth contour. By using beads that were similar in colour to the body material, only a subtle variation of colour is visible. Applying beads one size smaller than the chosen hook size creates a gentler taper. The front of the beads face each other on the hook shank. This leaves the cavity of each bead available for finishing off the body material. It also forms a crisp cylindrical boundary of the bands as on the body of the natural. The appearance is further enhanced through the use of Tactical UV Resin. Additionally, UV material and Sexi Floss display a transparency similar to that of real aquatic worms. This combination of factors is bolstered by the tantalizing movement of the Sexi Floss strands.
Though atypical of rubber worm patterns, the thin profile of the Glo Worm is beneficial. This reduction of surface area, paired with its tungsten weight, rockets this pattern down to the set distance below the surface. It also lets me tie the pattern through a wider range of sizes, from size 8 down to 16. This package has fooled trout across all seasons and moving water fisheries. To watch tying video click here.
