Gurgler (Night Frog)

Materials

Hook

Mustad 34007 or 9674, sizes 2 to 6 (Gartside lists 4 to 2/0 in salt, 6 to 2 in fresh water); TMC 811S is Craven's choice

Thread

Danville 3/0 or Monocord, white for the light fly, black for the night fly

Tail

A very sparse bunch of bucktail or a marabou plume, one-and-a-half shank lengths, with 5 or 6 strands of pearl Glimmer or Krystal Flash over it

Body

One strip of closed-cell foam 1/2 to 5/8 in wide and at least 1/8 in thick, tied down in five even segments (Craven adds pearl tinsel chenille under the hackle)

Rib

Saddle hackle palmered between the segments: white or grizzly, black or olive for the frog

Shell

The same foam strip pulled forward over the body and left standing about 1/2 in past the hook eye as the lip

Legsoptional

Rubber or silicone legs at the collar for the frog version

Adhesive

Head cement on the tie-downs and the final wraps

Steps

1. 1.Start the thread at mid-shank and wrap back to the bend.
2. 2.Tie in a sparse tail of bucktail or marabou about one-and-a-half shank lengths long, then a few strands of pearl flash on top of it.
3. 3.Cut a foam strip, trim one end square and tie that end down on top of the shank at the tail, leaving the long end hanging back 2 to 3 in behind the hook.
4. 4.Tie in the saddle hackle by its butt at the same point.
5. 5.Advance the thread a fifth of the way up the shank, fold the foam forward and take two or three wraps over it, then advance again and repeat until you have five even segments (or wrap a chenille body and simply palmer the hackle).
6. 6.Bring the hackle forward in open spirals between the segments, tie it off behind the eye and trim.
7. 7.Pull the remaining foam forward over the top of the body under light tension and bind it down just behind the eye.
8. 8.Stand the foam up, take a few wraps in front of it to keep it upright, and cut the shell off about 1/2 in past the hook eye to make the lip.
9. 9.Add legs at the collar if you are tying the frog, one or two strands each side, sweeping back.
10. 10.Whip finish under the lip and cement the wraps front and rear.

From the tier

• Jack Gartside ties it in white, yellow and black but says the fish do not much care about colour; the colour is for you, so you can see the fly. He fishes his Trout Gurgler on smooth water: cast it out and bring it back with twitches and gurgles. He notes that anglers on the Au Sable rate it highly for big trout.
• Night Frog notes from Michigan: Ed McCoy classes gurglers among the flies that float high and throw a defined wake; cast tight to the bank and use popping strips. Max Inchausti (Flylords) keeps trout frogs slim rather than bass-bug bulky, casts 45 degrees to the bank on a 6 to 8 ft leader ending in 15 to 20 lb, and slowly strips as the fly swings.
• Variants: black foam and hackle for dark nights, olive foam with a grizzly hackle and legs for the frog, natural or white foam with a white hackle for bass and dusk fishing.

Hook and hardware

• Saltwater or streamer hook1

  size 2 to 6 · Mustad 34007 or TMC 811S

  Hook

  1

Feathers and fur

• Bucktail or maraboua pinch

  black, olive or white

  Tail

  a pinch

• Saddle hackle1 feather

  grizzly, black or white

  Rib

  1 feather

Synthetics, flash and legs

• Krystal Flash5 or 6 strands

  pearl

  Tail

  5 or 6 strands

• Closed-cell foam sheet1 strip about 5 in

  3 mm, black, olive or white

  BodyShell

  1 strip about 5 in

• Rubber legsoptional4 strands

  olive or black barred

  Legs

  4 strands

Thread and finish

• Tying thread1 spool

  3/0, black or white · Danville

  Thread

  1 spool

• Head cement1

  Adhesive

  1