I’ve been thinking of tying some small leeches to use for bluegill and was wondering if others are doing the same and if so what is working for you- colors, sizes and materials? Thanks
David K. Spencer
David, while my favorite BG flies are spiders both weighted and not, on a whim the other week I tied a small marabou leech in black with a dark black, purple, blue or red glass bead head on a size 12 hook. The tail was at least as long as the hook past the bend.Black thread. Super glue on knot behind bead. It was SHREDDED in one session on a local pond! Now it is a tail-less stump. Pre-shredded length was about an inch and an eighth long with a quarter inch diameter. The marabou actually came off of a craft store purchase of black hackle feathers sewn together as a yard long feather fringe thing for costume making. I was using the hackles to tie spiders and while plucking them from the long strip and prepping them for tying, I noticed that there was a very short poofy feather right at the base of the hackle that makes a great leech tail and body wrap. It gives more action on the body than chenille would or the stifffer hackle fibers. You might try bunny strips but they would probably need to be sliced very short and narrow to get the mini-leech effect you’re after. I know I’ll be doing up several dozen this winter. Once I tie on a new to me fly I’ll drag it back and forth in front of me before fishing it to get the sink rate and swim of that particular fly as I’m sure most folks do if they don’t do the sink or bathtub test. Good luck! Hope this description is clear enough. If not let me know and I’ll tie another up and take a pic of it up close.
Steve
I fish, therefore I swam.
[This message has been edited by featherchucker (edited 02 December 2005).]
I have done them with marabou, crow body feather, and boa yarn. Black, white, purple and yellow have been the best for me.
Rick
Dave,
Small leeches are one of my go-to flies for bluegill. I have found the most effective pattern for me is a simple black mohair leech tied with black mohair yarn and a black marabou tail. I tie these on size 10 or 12 hooks in both weighted or non-weighted. I sometimes add a small red glass beadhead or a small plastic orange bead that is commonly used by bait fishermen to peg their floats. Great pattern, super easy to tie and very effective.
Jim Smith
Thanks guys for all your help. I can’t wait to try this.
David K. Spencer
Chicago Leech -
Hook - #8-12, 3XL
Tail - marabou, short [about 1/4-3/8" long] with 4-6 short copper flashabou strands.
Body - Mohair yarn, twisted on and combed out.
Weight - brass or gold beadhead, sized to hook. If less weight is wanted use glass bead or lay lead wire under mohair body instead of brass bead.
Colour - black, olive, white [on white leeches use “rainbow pearl” flashabou].
Use black 75-80% of the time.
Donald
If you tie a Gill Buster with black zonker on a size 10 or 12 hook, you have a right cool imitation of a leech. This fly has caught almost every warmwater species except for crappie, but has so in white not black. JGW
[This message has been edited by white43 (edited 02 December 2005).]
JGW;
That there Gill Buster in white was catching me some Crappie just before it turned cold and iced up this fall. I have about a dozen ready and waiting for spring now.
Don
is this the pattern? http://www.texasflyreport.com/patterns/pattern.aspx?id=15
That’s the one. I use mainly black, and don’t be fearful of tying those with beadchain eyes, either. Not quite so “jiggy.” White are excellent for walleye in rivers, crappies in spring in the shallow bays. I"ve tied them with olive and yellow that are excellent for LMB and smallies. But black takes 'em all. Bluegill on down. JGW
awesome! I love simple flies. you can make alot in lil time and be fishing instead! seeing as the rivers are froze now I have alot of time to make some tho! I just got me some black zonker strips also! olive too. think that would work for bass in what size??? now I have a excuse to get white strips too! lol
what kinda size 12 hook could you use? all I got is dry flys and wet flys size 12 for drys and nymphs.but they seem small? I have size 10 I use for buggers I am gonna try out.
Size 10 works perfectly. In fact, that’s all I’ve ever tied. Had bass up to five pounds and catfish even bigger take black Gill Busters. JGW
My favorite “leech” imitation has to be a black woolly bugger. Ol’ reliable in my book. Has to be a bead head on a #8-12 hook for me. I twitch it along drop offs and through weedbeds…they seem to hit it best on the pause, so be really careful to watch your line.
Make your ‘gillbuster’ type fly even more simple.
Instead of tying the zonker strip in as a tail, tie it directly behind the dumbell eyes:
Tie in the eyes and cover the shank with thread-
cut a zonker with the length of the ‘hide’ matching the hook shank length.
Tie the tip of the zonker directly behind the eyes.
Simple and effective (for trout, too, by the way).
I hook more fish with this tie than the with the trailing zonker strip.
Buddy
David,
You can also try this one in a size 10:
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/050304fotw.php
Two materials, two steps.
Best colors: black, purple.
Cheers,
Richard in Plano, TX
My greatest success has been using Rick Z’s Boa Yarn Leech. See the link to the FOTW archives.
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/061206fotw.php
I love the simpler flies. They seem more effective!
I got some mohair yarn and have been tying some leeches with it.
The one I like best is furling the tail and then loosly wrapping the body and picking the yarn out some.
I will try to get a picture next week.
Rick
Just try a wooly bugger in black, but try to find sparkle chenille, and try some without hackle. It gives a more smooth body appearance, as hackle can spike up and ruin the leech image.
I could show you my supasucka leech, but I’ll save that for Fly of the week.
Which reminds me, how I do enter a fly for fly of the week?
Send a PM to Ladyfisher or e-mail her at publisher@flyanglersonline.com
She or JC will tell you how to submit it.
Joe