Some years ago now, a good friend of mine, Del Brown, while fishing for striped bass in the Boston area was introduced to Jack Gartside's Gurgler. The name Del Brown should be no surprise to you if you have read anything about fishing for permit. Del not only designed the famous Merkin crab pattern but, just this past year , 2002, Del caught and released his 500th Permit. Anyhow, upon returning to California, Del was overwhelmed with several aspects of the Gurgler. First, the erratic action: not loud and splashy, like a popper, or a subdued waking action, like a slider - something in between. Second, the bug's simplistic design was easy to tye. And third, he could cast the bug much further with much less effort than many types of big, wind-resistant poppers.
When Del showed me the bug, he offered a few design modifications primarily to enhance the top water action. The evazote foam was rather lightweight and soft which allowed the lip to fold back, killing the great action. Del suggested using a loop of stiff monofilament behind the lip preventing it from collapsing back over the bug.
Given the deficiency of the lightweight evazote foam, I began to search for a better material to replace the lightweight evazote, thinking that I may be able to kill two birds with one stone: 1) Find a stiffer foam to provide a more rigid, fixed lip; and 2) to develop a bug that would not be torn up by toothy critters. I shared my thoughts with another close friend, Stan Pleskunas. Stan, being an engineer and designer, knew of a foam, and suggested I give it try. This new foam satisfied all of my design criteria.
The new foam was stiffer, and tougher, yet still could be secured to the shank of the hook. I decided that since the foam was denser it opened up some ideas for additional design changes. By tying the bug on the front 2/3's of the hook it would not only "sit down" in the wate, due to the heavier bend end of the hook pulling the bug down, but also change the angle of the lip. In addition, I discovered that by heating the foam lip I was able to compress and shape the foam, giving it a bit more upward angle, making it even more dramatic as a top water bug, holding its position without additional support. With the lip in this position, the bug tended to dart and jump when stripped with a short erratic motion. Since the bug was "in" the water and not "on" the water, the bigger fish were not as likely to push the bug away when approaching for a strike. Also, I would like to note, that one of my major concerns in fly design/selection is the gape clearance of a hook, which is a problem for many fly and popper designs. A significant advantage to the gurgler-style bug, compared with other bugs, is that the foam is attached on top of the hook leaving the gape completely open, and the hook-point totally exposed for hooking.
Needless to say this evolution did not happen over night. After two years of testing and refining, while encouraging others to try the bug, including Dan Blanton and Lefty Kreh, the design was finally at a point where I was satisfied. The bug has caught fish as far North as Alaska and as far South as Australia, and needless to say has entertained anglers on both the East and West Coasts of the United States.
I have continued to expand the design to other patterns, specifically targeting other species. My original foam size was1/2" and I always called that my Standard bug -primarily designed for stripers, and representing any small, 3" bait. But soon I added a 5/8"-wide foam, to be used in larger patterns specifically for many other saltwater species, northern pike and muskies. And, just recently, the Fall of 2002, after numerous requests, a yet larger, 3/4" size, was added to the group.
Although I always use the same basic foam design I decided to call the collection of these various bugs my "Gurgler Series", created to target specific species. Along with the Standard and Saltwater versions, the "Gurgler Series" includes: a pattern for northern pike, barracuda, a Swimming Mouse pattern for trout, a Swimming Rat pattern for large mouth bass, and a Pink Polliwog pattern for silver salmon. Needless to say, the excitement never ends as a I hear of additional species caught on my newly designed top water bug.
Finally, I would be remiss not to step back and thank Jack Gartside for giving us an incredible pattern, which has developed also into a deadly, durable, and versatile top water bug.