Squirmy Wormy Shaming

TheDuke44

TheDuke44

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I never understood all of the hate towards fishing a squirmy wormy, but I assumed it only existed online - that was, until this Saturday when a couple of guys fishing upstream of me walked by along the bank and asked what I was catching them on. When I told them I was using a hopper dropper with a squirmy, they both rolled their eyes and said something along the lines of "why don't you use a real fly?"

I laughed it off and said "if it works, it works" but when trying to explain to my wife why there was so much vitriol towards the squirmy wormy, I was kind of befuddled. Is it because the silicone material isn't "natural"? Is it because worms aren't flies? Curious to hear all of your thoughts.
 
It's no different than folks barking about fishing a Green Weenie, because it's not a "fly". Our goal is to catch trout, use whatever makes that happen. You're not fishing to please other people.

Edit: I've had some steller days fishing a Green Weenie when I wasn't getting them on other "flies".
 
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Junk flies put trout in the net. Had a day on Penns back in mid April where they were absolutely slamming the dumbest orange eggs in the fastest water. But the larger point of people tending toward judgmental is the reason I barely talk to anyone unless they seem like they’re genuinely lost and looking for answers out there.

I don’t particularly care how other people would have felt about my catching trout on junk flies because the fact is I probably hooked more than 50 of them in about an hour and a half period, and if you’re asking me what I’m using then I guess you don’t have it figured out. I’d encourage you to not care about the opinions of idiots
 
TheDuke44 said:
I never understood all of the hate towards fishing a squirmy wormy, but I assumed it only existed online - that was, until this Saturday when a couple of guys fishing upstream of me walked by along the bank and asked what I was catching them on. When I told them I was using a hopper dropper with a squirmy, they both rolled their eyes and said something along the lines of "why don't you use a real fly?"

I laughed it off and said "if it works, it works" but when trying to explain to my wife why there was so much vitriol towards the squirmy wormy, I was kind of befuddled. Is it because the silicone material isn't "natural"? Is it because worms aren't flies? Curious to hear all of your thoughts.
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That reminds me of an encounter several years back where I had my fly rod lying on my truck bed eating lunch and two older gentlemen saw my double nymph Setup on a 9 foot #4 rod and one said something around " not biting on real flies and normal rods"? I laughed at the time since the morning had been very productive using the rig. I saw one of the two gentlemen this spring at the same location rigging up a 10 foot plus Euro rigs with 2 nymphs. I just had to laugh upon seeing that and complimented him on his nice setup. So my point is that a lot of purists / snobs change their mind once they actually try different methods / flies.
 
I’ve heard many say “Fishing is Fishing” … as stated above, the goal is catch fish.

I’ve never been good at fishing “worm imitations” with my fly rod until this year. Two experienced fly fisherman in my neighborhood suggested the Green Weenie on my preferred stream. It works!! I told my wife that “I went to the dark side” fishing the Green Weenie. Her response: “You caught a lot of fish…why is that the dark side?”
 
I just don't fish them for trout regularly because I enjoy pretending that I'm figuring out a situation; worms don't really lend themselves to that. Is one time better than another to fish a worm? High water? I would probably just choose to fish streamers.

I do occasionally put one under a dead drifted bugger in winter when absolutely nothing seems to be alive in the water. Good attention getters... They also catch a ton of panfish.
 
I think what you experienced is the pretentious side of fly fishing. While the squirmy is often mocked, it produces. I don't really use them often.

I'm sure in the past other materials and fly styles have been mocked like when bead head nymphs became popular or even new types of streamers.

People cite "tradition" often times when they say certain types of fishing are better than others, but at one point in time that "tradition" was new itself.

My dad told me that growing up (and even sometimes now) he would use a fly rod and nightcrawlers, and he would work downstream fishing it like a streamer and jigging it up the runs for brookies. His hybrid method of fly fishing/bait fishing, is very effective, and I can see why they used to do it all the time. What's funny about it now, is you see lots jig style streamers, and worm flies. Trout like worms, so naturally worm flies should work.
 
Green weenie? SJW? Walt's Worm? Hated because they're simple and effective and thus didn't require "skill" to make.

Squirmy wormies? Basically a soft plastic lure.

That's why people don't like them. Personally, I view it like "euro nymphing." It's not fly fishing, but I don't care what someone else does just don't expect me to appreciate it. Although I don't really have an issue with the first grouping at all.
 
hooker-of-men said:
I enjoy pretending that I'm figuring out a situation; worms don't really lend themselves to that.
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Your wording made me lol - I'm unfortunately a fellow pretender.

As for the second part, funny enough, the only reason I tied one on is because while tying my boots in the parking lot I noticed an abnormal number of worms in the parking lot after the fresh rain.
 
Situationally, earthworms emerge from saturated ground after storms and end up getting washed into a trout river when the showers are scattered. That’s no less hatch matching than all the nerds driving to central PA to throw cicada patterns last June. Of course, streamers often work then too- except when they don’t. You know what often works even better? A sculpin with a squirmy fished as a tag dropper.

The best anglers I know play the hand they’re dealt. Whether that’s matching a size 26 bwo emergence, Hendrickson egglayers, coffin flies, salmonflies, eggs post white sucker spawn, green weenies when there are chartreuse inchworms in the trees, etc.

In terms of tying, I’ll gladly put my Catskill dries up against anyone’s that claims that the ostensibly lesser skill required to tie a euro nymph or squirmy makes me an inferior fly tyer. I’d argue, in fact, that a good benchmark for a truly “skilled” flytyer would be to produce a dozen identical size 14 Walt’s worms in spiky hares ear dubbing with the same uniform carrot shaped taper across all 12 flies. I’d bet the sh*ttalking would cease pretty quickly if we sat down together at two vises and compared our work with a clock counting down from 20 min to 0.
 
One day while spin fishing I was clobbering them at a crowded hole on a yellow marabou crappie jig,..

When asked what I was using, I lied and said a Mepps spinner. Since those days, if I'm asked on stream what's working because I'm catching fish, I still lie... 😎

However, if I can get someone's snobbery dander up by saying I was using a "Squirmy Wormy," that may end up being my pat answer.
 
I have always found that if you have an 8" squirmy in your fly box it is very easy to laugh off those fishing with midges.
 
I haven't used anything but a micro dungeon for the last 2 months I hate retying and tying again,call it what you will but this is like Crack to them, dead drifted, stripped slow,fast not all all doesn't matter I've even got bites while trying to take a dip of Copenhagen, use what ever catches you fish and do not think twice about it,
 
Bamboozle said:
I believe an 8" Squirmy is called a Senko... 😉
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More like a Sluggo

The reason for the disparaging of the junk flies is simple to see. I would bet those who cry foul over the squirmy are dyed in the wool trout fly fishermen only. They believe fly fishing is a higher calling and fly fishing for trout is the pinnacle of that calling. All other anglers need to bow at their alter or be ridiculed. I fish the hell out of junk flies and find that trout love them. I wish I could like fishing for trout more than I do. Maybe then I would prefer not catching over catching with a junk fly.
 
In fly fishing only areas, squirmy wormys are probably not allowed, because of the "molded fascimile" rule.

The other flies mentioned in this thread are allowed in fly fishing only areas, because they are tied with yarn

IMHO, egg patterns are not junk flies, because they imitate natural foods that trout eat. The same with green worm patterns, which imitate green caddis larvae and green inchworms.

Ant, beetle, cricket and grasshopper patterns are not considered junk flies, so it's absurd to call an inchworm imitation a junk fly.
 
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