Emerging Leech, Bloom's Leech, Etc

[bloom]

Here's a pic and pattern for the emerging leech, or bloom's leech. My go to pattern for all lake fishing...almost always fished catatonic style.

 

(One I just grabbed from my box)

 

Hook: size 10 or 12 (size 12 here) TMC 200R

Lead: Front third wrapped with lead

Tail: black woolly bugger marabou (tail's a little long here)

Body: Olive ice dub

Hackle: Dyed green grizzly. Webby. Only 2 or 3 turns on the front of the fly. (Hackle could be a little more webby than the one shown here)

Rib: Thin copper wire reversed wrapped over the body.

Thread: Red, and form a big red head.

 

Here's three fish landed this summer catatonic leeching with the labove eech.

[admin]

Sweet looking leech.

[bulltrout]

they worked pretty good in Nicolas Sheran this past spring for the stock of brookies...as well as Lees Lake for the broodies they dumped in there...

[Guest guito]

Great looking pattern, thanks for posting.

 

Guito

[SanJuanWorm]

By far the best stillwater leech i've ever fished.

 

Thanks bloom.

[lethfisher]

Could you tie that pattern with a conehead weight or bead headed weight on the front? Is it still called the same thing?

 

Small pike like these things to!

[albannachxcuileag]

Could you tie that pattern with a conehead weight or bead headed weight on the front? Is it still called the same thing?

 

Small pike like these things to!

 

Would it not then be a Cone Head Bloom's Leech?

 

Nice pattern that would transform to a Damsel with just a colour change.

 

Excellent fish too!

[scotfly]

Nice tie of a good looking pattern and some cracking fish... But I gotta ask, why is it called an emerging leech?

[lonefisher]

Thanks for reposting that Bloom thats a killer fly. Are those k lakes fish in the top 2 pics? Or am I just experiencing phantom similar rock syndrome.

[H2O]

But I gotta ask, why is it called an emerging leech?

 

Bloom's leech also works perfectly as an emerging damsel without any modification.

[SanJuanWorm]

They even say Bloom's emerging leech helps you pick up the ladies.

[H2O]

They even say Bloom's emerging leech helps you pick up the ladies.

 

Yes, but only at the Pickle Fish Pub.

[bloom]

I like the emerging part because the hackle up front is usually put on 'emerging' patterns, and it's ironic to see it on a leech pattern...cause we all know that leeches emerge

 

Lonefisher, those pics should look familiar as you took them...and H2O took the bottom one. It pays off to go fishing with board members...they know where all the fish are (and if I remember right, they bring the beer too)

[bloom]

Yes, but only at the Pickle Fish Pub.

 

 

Hey, I'm not picky...I'll take what I can get. And along the same lines, I also landed a 4 or 5lb sucker out of K lakes on that fly

[alhuger]

That's a nice pattern, but I have to ask, what is 'catatonic style'? I've seen the catatonic leach patterns before but is there a retrieval style as well?

 

-al

[bloom]

Catatonic style...what I'm referring to is running a leech under an indicator. I cast it out, let it sit there, and then give it a quick 2 or 3 inch strip every 30 to 60 sec to attract the fish's attention. I usually run two flies with the leech on top, and then a chironomid or shrimp below tied onto the eye of the leech. I like to fish them just above the weeds, or just off a weed bed.

 

My normal rig looks like this:

No leader, just ~10' of cheaper fluorocarbon like P-line or vanish, then

Barrel swivel, then

20' of frog hair fluoro. The leech is tied in only about 10'' below the swivel and then the dropper pattern is tied in on the 10' tag. I like how's there's less knots, and the leech tends to sit out perpendicular to the rig this way.

The indicator (lightest..most sensitive one possible) is on the cheaper flouro.

[alhuger]

Catatonic style...what I'm referring to is running a leech under an indicator. I cast it out, let it sit there, and then give it a quick 2 or 3 inch strip every 30 to 60 sec to attract the fish's attention. I usually run two flies with the leech on top, and then a chironomid or shrimp below tied onto the eye of the leech. I like to fish them just above the weeds, or just off a weed bed.

 

My normal rig looks like this:

No leader, just ~10' of cheaper fluorocarbon like P-line or vanish, then

Barrel swivel, then

20' of frog hair fluoro. The leech is tied in only about 10'' below the swivel and then the dropper pattern is tied in on the 10' tag. I like how's there's less knots, and the leech tends to sit out perpendicular to the rig this way.

The indicator (lightest..most sensitive one possible) is on the cheaper flouro.

 

Got it, thanks allot for sharing your setup with me. I am looking forward to hitting AB lakes where I can use multi fly rigs. I am a big fan of using swivels as well. I am moving away from bead heads on my chronnies and going with glass instead and using the swivel to get it down.

[ladystrange]

so you're basically nymphing a leech pattern in stillwater. just wanted to clarify

[Guest bigbadbrent]

Yes, but no retreiveing, other then the very seldom small strip...i find it works best when the water is slightly choppy

 

Can't wait to fish lakes with a thingamabobber..gonna be awesome

[alhuger]

Yes, but no retreiveing, other then the very seldom small strip...i find it works best when the water is slightly choppy

I find that statement to be true about any stillwater fishing for me. I always do better when there is a little action on the water.

[dryfly]

First off, thanks to bloom for a killer fly. He showed us last year and I could not recall the exact pattern so tied this version--which is simply a smaller leech. I had a couple of pretty decent days on BH this fall and most were on this fly. I fished it quasi-catatonic with slow retrieves under a small foam indicator.

[bloom]

Nice fly.

 

Catatonic leeching is just like chironomiding, just replace the chrony with a leech.

 

Chop on the lake is huge. I think that when the lake turns to glass, it makes the fish a little nervous and they stop feeding, or even worse, head for cover (ie. deeper water). Whenever it goes calm at Bullshead (which we all know is very rare), I'll usually pick up and head to a part of the lake where I see even the tiniest bit of chop....if I can't find any, it's off to deeper water.

[Guest tallieho]

beautiful pictures of your fish,your fly looks very much like a fly,that i & friends of mine would jokingly want to a make it an outlaw.it is a fly from the oregon flyfishers & is called a night fighter.it's been around a long long time .it is tied using peacock herl as the body, black bear or black calf tail for the tail,& a webby black chic. neck 1 wrap,behind the eye.i have eg.with putting a glass bead btwn .hackle & the eye or just on the tippet before you tie the fly on [red or clear] tight lines

[Guest bigbadbrent]

I find that statement to be true about any stillwater fishing for me. I always do better when there is a little action on the water.

 

 

I think its farely dependant on time of the year as well... I had my best day at my local water when it was absolute glass, but the boatmen were coming off. I've also had some pretty solid days with EHC's in june at some lakes when glass, but if im nymphing, its all about the choppy water. Otherwise im using a wooly bugger

 

Crystalridge lake in okotoks is odd though, i've never caught ANY fish in there using a woolybugger or catatonic leech, no matter how hard i tried. Always catch them on nymphs and dries, its odd

[dryfly]

Agree about dead calm .. although we've not ever seen actual "calm" at BH. Had a couple of relatively windless days this fall. The norm for us was "howling."

 

"Chop on the lake is huge." Now there is an understatement. (I assume you mean it is hugely important. )

 

Here is some normal BH "chop" ... aka Bullshead Breeze ... aka Katrina II ..