It has been a long time since I first promised a video on the Triangle Bug, but I finally got around to making one! The Triangle Bug has long been one of my most popular patterns for panfish. Over the years, it has gathered quite a following!
The Triangle Bug
It is not an intricate, complicated pattern to tie, but questions arise from time to time. Hopefully, I address most of them in this video. The fly only contains three materials, not counting the thread and hook: foam, rubber or silicon legs, and calf tail. There is no substitute for the foam body, but I have experimented with tail and leg material quite a bit.
I wanted to explain my reasoning for choosing calf tail but never got around to it in the video. Early on, I tried marabou and other feathers but found they did not hold up well. They provided a lot of movement in the water, but smaller bluegills' nibbling tendencies quickly reduced the tails to nothing. A fly designed for panfish needs to be robust as it has the potential to catch A LOT of fish. I chose calf tail over other materials because it offered more durability but had a little more action in the water than other hairs like bucktail.
The same holds true with the leg material. Medium round rubber or silicon legs of a similar thickness are the way to go. Thinner legs will get nipped off by the fish, and thicker stuff does not move well. Both rubber and silicone hold up well, but silicone seems to last longer than rubber, which tends to break down over time. That is something to think about if you keep flies in your box season after season.
A hundred fish later and still going!. If the tail had been made of marabou or other feathers it would have been long gone. I am still amazed this fly had all four of its legs at this point. They usually don’t last that long either!
A while back, I performed a little experiment to see if I could catch a hundred fish on a single fly. It took quite a few attempts to complete the test as I often lost flies to an errant cast or a toothy predator before I could hit the 100 fish mark! Eventually, I succeeded, and the fly was showing signs of wear!
The people have spoken, and I have listened! There are a lot more videos on the way! Most new patterns going forward will likely have a video tutorial to go along with them. If there is a fly from the website you would like to see a video for, you can request it using the button below.
The Triangle Bug Foam cCutter makes cutting a properly shaped body a breeze!
A quick note on the foam cutters shown in the video. A quick check on the website will tell you that they are out of stock, ONCE AGAIN! It has been difficult, to say the least, to keep up with the demand for these cutters. Another batch of them is in the manufacturing process as you read this, and I hope to have them up on the website soon. Many folks have asked to reserve one, and I have been honoring those requests.
If you would like to reserve one out of the next batch, send me an email at info@panfishonthefly.com (or hit the button below), and I will put one aside for you and notify you when they come in. There is no obligation to purchase; if you decide not to take the one you have reserved, they will sell quickly once listed on the website.
So with any further delays here is the video for the Triangle bug. I welcome any and all comments on the quality of the video. I know it is a little rough but they will only get better as I work the kinks out of the equipment, software, and tying behind a camera! If you like what you see in the video leave me a comment and by all means like and subscribe to the channel. That will motivate me to keep at it!
If your old school and prefer step by step photographs, you can find them via the button below
Need the materials to tie this fly? You find everything you need to tie the Triangle Bug in our shop, including foam sheets, pre-cut bodies, complete kits, calf tail, leg material and hooks. Please consider making your purchase with us. We are a small family-run business and every purchase you make means a lot to us!