Nothing is more emblematic of warmwater fly fishing than the bass bug. Small or large, colorful or drab, natural or synthetic, it is safe to say that every warmwater fly fisher has an assortment of these creations close at hand. They have been a part of the warmwater arsenal for so long that their true origin is unknown. Bass bugs are to dry flies as beer is to champagne. Their shear effectiveness tends to overshadow their intrinsic merit.
Nobody knows when the bass bug came into being.
Trying to pin that down is as futile as deciding who built the first fire. All of these are variations on a technique dating from at least the 18th century in the United States, and perhaps before. This served the dual functions of attracting the attention of the bass and obscuring its view of the boat and rod. Generally, the fisherman would simply drag the bob through the water while the boat moved. There was no retrieve.