Inside The Box: DOS Waker

DOS Salmon and Steelhead Waker This fly is a permutation of the Gartside Gurgler, tweaked to fit the needs of the Great Lakes salmonid angler. Here is a brief description of how the Gurlger style was developed. "Regarding the evolution of the Gurgler: Oddly enough, it evolved from the very simple Foam Beetle of trout fishing fame. This was about twenty years ago. I adapted it first to imitate a floating crab, tying it very large (on a 1/0-3/0 hook) with a short marabou tail and longish pheasant rump hackle Palmering. This worked very well for both tarpon and stripers. Reducing it, I began to tie it as a floating "bug" for bass and panfish, now using regular rooster hackle instead of pheasant for the Palmering. (In this incarnation, the fly is known both as a "Gartside Bug" or "Hoverbug." I then added a "lip" to this fly so that the fly would "gurgle" or create a commotion to attract largemouth bass or salmon or steelhead. And from there it wasn't a big step to adapt it to saltwater fishing, stripers and blues in particular (the latter fish being the reason it's most often tied on a long shank hook, to protect it from teeth); I substituted bucktail for marabou, slimmed down the profile and, viola, the basic Gurgler took shape. I sometimes still use marabou for a tail, also saddles, but most of the time I keep it simple with a slender bucktail tail. It remains my very favorite surface fly to fish for stripers." Hook: Mustad 34007 Stainless size 2-4 Tail: Rabbit Zonker Strip Rear Collar: Strung Guinea Hackle: Dyed Grizzly Saddle Foam: 2MM Closed Cell