You ever see those little neon dots bobbing down the river and think, "Man, that shouldn't work - but it absolutely slays"? That's the Glo Bug for you. I remember the first time I tied one on during steelhead season up on the Rogue - figured it was too gaudy to fool anything. Three fish later, I became a believer.

Here's the thing about these egg patterns - they're stupid simple in theory but tricky to get just right. You're basically wrapping a wad of fluorescent yarn around a short, stout hook (size 6-12 usually) and trimming it into something resembling a fish egg. Sounds easy until you've made your twentieth lopsided mess that looks more like a chewed-up gummy bear than trout candy.

The magic's in two things: that ridiculous color and the shape. We're talking nuclear orange, electric pink - colors that'd get you laughed out of the fly shop if they weren't so damn effective. What's wild is how these bright hues actually get muted underwater, turning into this perfect egg silhouette that triggers something primal in fish brains. I've watched trout ignore perfect mayfly imitations only to hammer a glo-bug like it's their last meal.

Timing's everything with these. When the spawn's on and eggs are washing downstream? Game over. Those riffles below redds become a buffet line, and fish turn into absolute gluttons. Don't overthink the presentation either - dead drift it like the real eggs would move, maybe with the occasional tiny twitch. I've taken steelhead, bows, even the occasional greedy smallmouth on these things when they're in the mood for roe.

Pro tip: carry multiple colors. Some days they want that classic salmon egg orange, other times they'll only eat the pink ones that look like trout eggs. And for Pete's sake, don't skimp on the head cement - nothing worse than watching your perfect bug unravel after one decent fish.

What still cracks me up? How something so simple out-fishes half my fancy dry flies. But hey, when the fish are eating eggs, you serve eggs. Just don't be surprised when your buddies give you side-eye for fishing what looks like craft store scraps. Until they see your net...