A few years ago, I decided to tie leech patterns. I had heard that they worked and was very excited that this was The Magic Fly.
I’m a huge fan of Tim Flagler’s and was fortunate to take a fly-tying clinic with him. So, when he posted the video below, complete with his exhortation that the pattern was very effective, I was absolutely certain that this was it.
I fished the patterns throughout that year, from the coldest of winter days to summer’s sparkling sunny days. And, I never had a take on any of them.
Gradually, I stopped fishing them. I even considered stripping off the materials to recycle the hooks, but the leeches stayed in an overflow fly box that I had. I forgot about them.
This winter, I gave those flies a quick glance and decided for no good reason to take them out for a spin. On a recent, snowy winter outing, I deployed the Euro-streamer game (our overview here) on an all mono-rig, as I didn’t want to trouble with iced guides.
I am glad that I did.
At one deep spot, I put on Landon Mayer’s Mini Leech. On the first cast I felt a “thump” on the line, set the hook and felt weight. A good fish burrowed deep. To tire it, I reeled up to put the bend of the rod closer to the butt and I held on. I hoped my knots would hold.
After some give and take, I saw a flash of a good brown trout before it dove deep and I guessed that it might be 18″ or so. But, when it flopped into the net, I could tell that it was larger than that.
Fat, lively and with some sharp teeth, this hen taped a bit over 21″.
I’ve caught some memorable browns, and this one ranks in the Top Three with a 23″ broodstock buck and a 22″ female that looked clean and wild to me. These are amazing creatures to behold!
Every day on the water is a great opportunity to learn something new. Why was this fly suddenly “hot” for me? Why didn’t it work in the past?
I suspect the answers are unknowable. Things happen, the river graces us with its beauty each and every time, and on occasion a special brown trout shows itself.
But I do know I will be tying up more of this pattern with the hope that good luck will one day again cross my path.
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I my experience, most fly patterns are “hot” from time to time. The “time to time” is why we carry so many in our vests!
There’s a time and place for everything. Trying to figure that out is part of the fun, but try as we might, we can’t will a fly to work no matter how much we like it – the fish get the final say.
Never a bad idea to throw a change-up in the rotation.
Fishing the leech as a dropper above an anchor ?
That can work. Or tie the fly with a tungsten bead and fish that as an anchor? I don’t have any evidence to justify it, but I like fishing this fly solo. I wonder if putting it on a dropper tag would limit the fly’s ability move/undulate?
I would think that it would be great on a drop shot as it bounces along the streamed.
Great idea!
I’ve also had really good luck with this fly (tungsten bead) swung deep in the current in the Spring time.
Fingers crossed that spring comes quickly!