Short Pink Squirmy Wormy Fly

Description

The squirmy wormy was originally used on rivers in the US for brown and rainbow trout. It’s just as deadly over here, and it’s said to be an extremely effective pattern for river grayling, especially in pink and red, whether the water is colored or clear. It’s great for bigger perch and roach too.

Cast it upstream and retrieve the line as the worm trundles back towards you in the current and you’ll probably hook up sooner or later. In rivers, I find it works best with a bead to help the material sink a bit better, which also seems to improve the action slightly.

In still waters the squirmy can be fished like a lure – cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, and pull it back in small twitches to get the legs moving.

Alternatively, you can, if you like fish it beneath a bung. Under the bung, you can either leave it bobbing around in the wind or retrieve it with jerky twitches.

It’s a good pattern for chucking into the margins and under trees and has accounted for a number of big fish for myself and my father.