How to tie the Black Bear Green Butt

Tag: oval silver tinsel
Butt: fluorescent green floss
Body: Black floss
Ribs: Oval silver tinsel
Wing: Black bear hair
Collar: Black hackle


The BBGB(Black Bear Green Butt)must be one of the most fished & tied flies here on Quebec Salmon rivers if not the world, It is a must have in your fly box
Like most patterns, it's origins come from a variation of a specific fly or flies. In going through books like Joseph Bates' "Fishing Atlantic Salmon The Flies & the Patterns", Fulsher & Krom's, " Hairwing Atlantic Salmon Flies", Stewart & Allen's, "Flies for Atlantic Salmon" & Marriner's,"Modern Atlantic Salmon Flies", the authors all make reference to Harry Smith of Cherryfield, Maine, who in the 1920s created an all black fly called The Black Bear Fly. Tied with a wing & throat of black bear hair & a black wool body.
Later, tiers varied the materials or added tinsel & different colored floss creating what we know as the BBGB today.
Some use gold tinsel for the tail & tag & some silver tinsel. Some tie in a tail while others prefer a collar of hackle instead of hackle fibers bunched & tied in as a throat. The wing material varies also. I've tied with polar bear, goat, squirrel, fox, deer, moose, etc...& feather wings are great too!


The BBGB lends itself great to other families of flies such as Speys, Dees, Tubes, streamers, etc...
Of course most will say that these variations are no longer considered a true BBGB.
The evolution of the BBGB & all flies is ongoing & that is, at least for me, one of the exciting things about fly tying! Knowing the history of their origins makes it even sweeter!

Here is a step by step on how I tie one of it's many variations.

 Tie in the tag.Then tie in floss as shown leaving the tag end extend past the hook bend.
 Wrap your floss back toward the tag & then forward. 
 Tie off & then pull tag end of floss over the butt & tie off. This extra step will protect the floss butt from unraveling over the tag & hook bend.
 Although there is no need, I choose to build up & taper my bodies using Uni 3/0 white thread.
 Tie in rib & floss. The "standard" # of turns for ribs is 5, but feel free to experiment.
Tie in the wing. I prefer a sparse dressing.
Tie in hackle & wrap as a collar. Tie off & varnish head.

This step by step is only a basic example of a BBGB. Feel free to create your own style.

Here is a BBGB that I always carry when Salmon fishing. This one is beautifully mangled! It was given to me by an excellent local flyfisherman on a North Shore Salmon river in Quebec. I was fishing the main pool as he sat on the bench behind me as he always does. I was alone on the pool as the rest of the fisherman had left for lunch. I was sorting through my box of flies. He saw I wasn't finding what I was looking for so he asked, "what you looking for?"
"I left one of my fly boxes at the motel. It had all my BBGBs in it & I'm looking to see if I have one in  here." I explained.
"Hold on a minute", he said & rushed to his pick up & back, "Here, tie this on".
I thanked him & turled it on to my leader. It took only 3 casts & a few minutes later, a fresh hen Salmon was catching her breath as I held her in the current to release her. I shook his hand & tried to hand him the fly. He insisted I keep it.
The floss butt had frayed a little, but not much & I swung it again later that evening. Another salmon hooked, but unbuttoned after a violent run! This time the butt had unraveled pretty bad so I decided to cut most of it off . Time to retire this fly.
That was the first day & first river of my 6 day North Shore rivers trip. 2 more rivers to go & then back to the first river for one more day.
It was a tough day on the second river with no fish raised. I looked through my box & saw the BBGB. I said "Let it ride!" & tied it on. Needless to say I released a second salmon on the same fly. I thought that this fly had some serious mojo & continued to fish it.
By the 4th fish released,1 that unbuttoned, & 2 other raised,  the fly had no tag, butt or rib left! I decided to retire it & pinned it on my cap.
The last day found me back where it all began. I saw the gentleman who gave me the fly & showed it to him. " You gave me a magic fly!" We both laughed & as I recounted the amazing week I just had.
I still had an entire afternoon left of fishing & as the evening grew closer, I contemplated tying it on one last time."Should I push my luck", I wondered, "I shouldn't". 
I did & the fifth fish was released! Now the fly had also lost its floss body & looks like what you see in the photo above, beautifully mangled!
It has been 10 years since I last fished it, but it remains close to me if ever I should really feel the need for its mojo!



Comments

  1. Craig6 October 2020 at 09:11

    I was trying to figure out if I wanted a tail or not on my BBGB flies and your story about the mangled fly confirmed it (it doesn't have a tail right?). Thanks!

    Craig

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flyfishing Mitch6 October 2020 at 14:37

      Craig, thanks for the question.
      I do not tie a tail on my BBGBs because I don't want anything to take away from the fluorescent green butt. Having said that, I've seen some tied with tails and they look great.
      I'm not a stickler for replicating patterns exactly as they were intended. At times, I enjoy adding or subtracting materials or colors.
      Your hook, your rules!

      Delete

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