Love them or loathe them, Squirmy Worms are a must have in many a fly fisher’s arsenal these days. Whether it’s beating the dreaded blank or broadening your species tally, they’re well worth investigating. Multi-species fly fishing ace Jamie Sandford is your guide to getting the best from the ultimate “Marmite” fly pattern!
Present in the armoury of many modern fly anglers: the much loved and hated 'Squirmy Worm'
Has there ever been a fly pattern to divide opinion as fiercely as the “Squirmy”? This relatively simple pattern, often synonymous with being fished 'under the bung', can be likened to “float fishing a lobworm' – at least by those who aren't fans!
Alas, in my opinion (and coming from a coarse fishing background) the typical criticisms couldn't be further from the truth. Like any means of catching fish, there is an art to using these patterns, after all, which can be used intelligently or mindlessly. Before we go any further, thought, perhaps we should look at the history books to gain a better understanding on what's become a modern staple.
“Worm” style fly patterns- from San Juan to Saint Squirmy!
Born to wiggle: the “Squirmy” is just the latest in a long, wriggly line of fish catching patterns
Let’s establish one fact from the off- flies with long, flexible bodies are anything but new! Generations of anglers have sought to imitate worms, leeches and other staples. Take the San Juan Worm. Although this fly doesn't have a totally concrete origin, to my knowledge at least, a man by the name of 'Jim Aubrey' is most definitely cited as being 'one of' the first to design & utilise the pattern in the 1970s, on the rivers of north America including, surprise surprise, the 'San Juan' river!
I believe that in its infancy, Jim's patterns were tied with chenille and had the ends burnt with a lighter, thus giving life to that characteristic wiggle look we all know.
Fast forward to the present day and the pattern has been 'Frankensteined' by fly tyers across the globe. Various materials have been used to suit all manner of species and waters, in turn taking on various names in the process. Here are just a few:
- San Juan Worm
- Squirmy Worm
- Squirmie-Wormie
- Silli-Worm
- Rubber Worm
The most common and perhaps popular material now used, would be the ultra bright, latex/silicone based strands that stretch, and stretch, and streeeeetch! This has become known to most, as the 'Squirmy Wormy'.
It can be an excellent trout pattern, but also deserves far wider currency for stacks of different species. Tied into the back end of a grayling jig it can be deadly for the “Lady of the Stream”. It can also be manipulated to create small lures for wrasse and pollack, bunched-up to form the tails of a headstand bloodworm carp fly, or even fashioned into a dangling addition to a fritz or blob style fly for rainbows and perch. Hence the 'Squirmy', is truly an all rounder!
An excellent stillwater brown, tempted on one of the author’s creations
Advantages and disadvantages of Squirmies
So, what are the pros of using these patterns? Well, for starters they are:
- Cheap to make
- Durable
- Easy and FUN to tie (a great beginner’s fly pattern)
- Versatility for multi species fly fishing
As for the cons, well in my book there is none! I'd even go so far as to say that should I only be allowed to fish one 'fly' ever again, it would be the 'squirmy'...yes really! In fact the one criticism tends to be from the “purists” who will say that using one is “not fly fishing” or akin to lure fishing. Easily said when you don’t use them- and you don’t do any lure fishing (a fascinating and highly skilful branch of fishing as valid as fly fishing).
How to fish the squirmy worm
We’ve already mentioned the versatility of the Squirmy- and in truth this applies to tactics as well as species. So how would you present one? Well, they can be fished under an indicator as previously mentioned, just as they can be tweaked back slowly on a floating line. They can be 'trotted' in the push of a moving current, allowed to sink and then twitched hard- or retrieved with a vigorous figure of 8 to get them dancing. Heck what's not to love?!
Turrall stock all the ingredients you need to create endless Squirmy variants, so go and play!
Like any 'fly' pattern you can weight them to suit the job you have in mind. This could mean tweaking the hook gauge, or adding wire-wraps under the body or a coloured bead to create a weighted hotspot!
For example, a fluro white bead against a dark red body is a really sublime fish catcher.
Experimenting with such materials and patterns in my own fishing has led me to some great catches. Among endless possibilities, though, one of my favourite colours available is the fluro-glo green body material. Fishing such a colour under the indicator tight within the black shade of overhanging rhododendron bushes in the middle of January, has led to some fantastic trout sport!
Further thoughts and fly fishing tips…
To add some final points, it’s worth noting that I seldom tie my 'worms' longer than 2"/5cm these days, favouring an inch either side or less! Some worm patterns available on the market seem to be hellishly long, and in my experience this just leads to lots of snatchy takes, nips and 'bobs' that result in missed fish and lots of 'tutting'.
So, make your flies bite-sized and mix up the materials to suit your fishing- but don’t go overboard on dimensions, would be my advice. Turrall now stock a range of useful colours- along with various beads and wires to suit. Another good tip for those tying their first “squirmies” is to invest in some mylar tubing. If you find that your tying thread tends to cut into the rubber, you can use the mylar as a protective sleeve, to really clamp down without slicing up the material.
So, the next time you use a Squirmy, give a nod to its heritage, have fun tying some funky variants and smile when your target species is firmly in the net! We’re trying to catch fish after all, not subscribe to some puritanical code of fly fishing.
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