Gartside Gurgler Variant with legs

The Gartside Gurgler is a well-known fly pattern for bass and saltwater fish. The materials were my selection but the use of rubber legs came from Brett Clarke. Easy to tie, using the “Seven P’s” it should take about ten minutes to tie. Read More »

JOS Gurgler

John O'Shaughnessy

I first made this fly back around the turn of the century (I like saying that) to replace the small Dahlberg divers that I had begun using to fish for bream. They were too fiddly and time consuming to tie and didn’t last long. Read More »

The gurgler has been refined little since the original version.

JOS Gurgler

Hook Size

I have been occasionally using size 6 O’Shaughnessy hooks rather than size 8 to create a bigger commotion in the water when the wind is extreme and to create a larger silhouette at night. Read More »

Gartside Gurgler

The Gurgler Fly Pattern is a floating fly that spits and “gurgles” when stripped, and is designed to imitate everything from shrimp to baitfish and a frog for bass.

Invented by the late Jack Gartside, the Gurger is a simple and very effective fly to tie, and the tying technique has even been incorporated into mouse flies for trout.

Read More »