Gusto

 

Gusto
This is a Peter Morse fly and is a great variation of a Woolly Bugger and is making its mark.

It's dressed on a wide gape hook that creates an effective "keel" effect and sports a relatively long marabou tail and a dense collar which together create plenty of currents around the fly that really get the marabou moving.

It is adaptable for a range of species from bass to barramundi to GT's and works well in river, impoundments and salt water situations.

Big Barra version

Hook Eyes Thread Tail Tail Flash Body Front hackle
Gamagatsu SL12 hooks #4/0 Spirit River 'real eyes' 7/32" White Uni big fly thread Grey marabou Pearl Krystal flash - 6 strands Red Estaz chenille Blue sculpin hackle

As a white clouser replacement

Hook Eyes Thread Tail Tail Flash Body Front hackle
Gamagatsu SL12 hooks #2/0 Spirit River 'real eyes' 3/16" White Uni big fly thread White or grey marabou Peal Krystal flash - 4 strands White or red Estaz chenille White or gray sculpin hackle

I also to tie this fly in "bead chain eye" versions for shallow water.

Other colours worth trying include

Mangrove Jack version - Red with black hackle
Pink thing colours - White or grey with pink hackle
Gold bomber lure colours - Black over gold with black hackle
Peter Morse Sunset - Red and yellow

Process

A
  1. Wrap the thread in tight touching turns down the front 1/5 of the hook shank.
  2. Tie in your bead chain, dumb bell or real eyes on top of the hook shank at the 1/5 position using figure 8 wraps. To tighten the connection wrap the thread around the base of the eyes on top of the hook shank.
  3. Continue winding the thread to just in front of the bend of the hook.

B
  1. Tie in a woolly bugger type tail of marabou with a couple of strands of sparkle flash. The finished tail should be as long as the marabou available and at least twice as long as the hook.
  2. Tie in a length of body material at the bend of the hook.

C
  1. Wind the thread forward to just behind the eyes,
  2. Wind the body material forward in touching turns an tie it of about half way up the hook shank.
  3. Select one or more hackles and tie them in by the tip at the half way position. Webby hackles are best as they create more of eddy round the collar than more open hackles.

D
  1. Trim the tip/s of the hackle/s where it is tied in.
  2. Wind the hackle/s forward forming a fairly dense collar.
  3. Tie the hackle/s off behind the eyes and trim away the butt section of the hackle with a blade rather than scissors.
  4. Stroke the hackle back and lock them in position with several wraps of thread behind the eyes.

E
  1. Take the thread over the eyes and build up a neat cone shaped nose on the fly.
  2. Whip finish the thread between the eyes and the eye of the hook.
  3. Trim the thread and varnish or epoxy the nose and the eyes of the fly.