Simi Seal Leech , "Fly of the Week #164

Simi Seal Leech
By John Rohmer
Photos by Mark J. Phillips Thanks for use permission!

Simi Seal Leech

John Rohmer

Throughout the years I have been fortunate enough to fish most of the west as well as some of the great stillwaters of Canada. One pattern that has worked for me consistently is a leech pattern. Whether you are on one of the large river systems, smaller creeks or one of the great stillwater fisheries, a leech will take fish.

I have tied flies for over thirty five years and I still love it. But as much as I love creating patterns, I love fishing them more. So durability is an important component of one of my patterns. The Simi Seal leech is almost indestructible. There is nothing to break and the more the fish chew on it . . . the better it fishes. Arizona Simi Seal is one of my products and came about as a one step material to tie leeches. The material has several different flashy materials blended with mohair to give the fly life like qualities. The trick I found was adding enough flash to attract fish but not too much to spook them in clear water conditions.

Tie some up and give them a try. Use your imagination and come up with something altogether different. That is the beauty of tying your own patterns. I am constantly amazed with what other tyers come up with using some of my materials. I always wonder why I didn't think of that.

Here is how I tie it.

Materials

Hook: 2x-3x nymph hook of choice.

Bead: Color of choice matched to hook size.

Thread: 6/0 matching Arizona Simi Seal color.

Tail: Arizona Simi Seal color of choice.

Body: Arizona Simi Seal color of choice.

Ribbing: Wire color of choice.

Tying Steps:

1. Secure bead behind the eye of the hook. Bring thread back to the bend of the hook and tie in a pinch of Arizona Simi Seal in the center of the clump.

2. Fold forward facing clump backwards to the rear and tie down. Tie in copper wire rib.

3. Dub Arizona Simi Seal body to desired taper and tease out with Velcro.

Dubbing Method

A. Dub Arizona Simi Seal evenly along thread. No wax is added. Material doesn't necessarily even have to be tightly dubbed on thread. Make sure Arizona Simi Seal is dubbed along the entire length of thread from the hook shank to the tip of the bobbin.

B. Hold the tip of the bobbin, the thread and the material firmly by the first finger and thumb. Begin wrapping body of desired shape. Do not loosen your grip on the bobbin tip. Each successive wrap will tighten the material around the thread.

C. After you have achieved the desired body shape, tie off and tease with Velcro or leave as is. This method will work with any coarse, hard to dub material like seal or mohair without the need for gummy waxes or dubbing loops.

4. Wrap wire rib (copper shown) behind the bead, tie off and trim excess wire. Retease with Velcro . . . finished fly.

Fishing Suggestions:

By changing the size and color of the pattern, leeches can also represent small baitfish, crawfish, dragonfly and even damsel nymphs. It is one of the most versatile flies we have can have in our boxes and every angler should have an ample supply in various sizes and colors. Tie them with some weight in the front of the fly to sink them to the depths desired and give the undulating motion of the leech. Beads and coneheads do the trick as well and many tyers prefer these for ease of tying. I tie an assortment unweighted to work over the weedbeds early morning and late evening. A late evening leech pattern in a dark color has proven deadly for me just about everywhere I have tried it. Adding rubberlegs is effective especially on browns and smallmouth bass.

~ John Rohmer, Arizona Flyfishing

For more great flies, check out: Beginning Fly Tying and Intermediate Fly Tying.