This easy to tie fly is one of my favorites for early spring fishing. I use it for fishing lower elevation lakes, 2000'-3500' elevation where there is abundant aquatic vegetation which has died back during winter.

• Long Shank Hook size 8 - 14
• Tan Thread
• Brown Maribou (Center of Tail)
• Olive Maribou (Flanks of Tail)
• J. Fair, Glimmer Pearl Short Shuck Chenile, Dark Olive (Body)
• J. Fair, Glimmer Pearl Short Shuck Chenile, Medium Cinnamon (Body Accent)

Wrapping the Hook
Tie thread to hook with 4 or 5 half hitches. Wrap the hook with thread and apply a small amount of head cement to secure thread to hook. Cementing the thread to the hook is not neccessary, however, it makes a fly which is more durable and less likely to unravel the first time it gets hit.

Selecting Maribou
The only part of the feather which will show once the fly is finished is the very tip. Cut a section of the shaft which has the appropriate amount of feather tip you need. You can strip away one side of the feather if you need to. It is easier manipulate the feather while tying to the hook if the shaft is holding all the small after shafts together. This example is a sparsely tied fly. Some of the variations use a lot more maribu.

Tail Center
Attach a small piece of brown maribou to the hook shank by making several wraps of thread around the hook shank and the feather. This piece should stay top center of the shaft. As you are making the first few wraps with the thread and tightening, the feather will tend to roll the direction you are wrapping so you will have to start with the feather slightly off-center. Trim off the excess feather in front of the wrap.

Tail Flanks
Hold a piece of olive maribou on both sides of the tail center as described above. If you find it too hard to tie in both feathers at once, do one at a time. Trim excess feather in front of your tie.

Attaching the Chenile
Cut a short piece (6 to 8 inches) of both colors of the chenile and attach them to the hook shank slightly in front of where the tie for the tail feathers begins.

First Body Wrap
Make several wraps of thread around the hook shank so your thread ends up right next to the eye of the hook. Take the dark olive strand of chenile and wrap it around the hook shank to form the body. Tie it off with 4 or five wraps right behind the eye of the hook. Trim excess chenile.

Second Body Wrap
The second body wrap is an accent so it can be spirialed up the hook much sparser than the first body wrap. Tie it off with 4 or five wraps right behind the eye of the hook. Trim excess chenile.

Finish
Finish the fly with a whip finish. Trim as much excess feather as you possibly can obstructing the eye. Carefully apply a small amount of head cement, clear around the head of the fly without getting any in the hook eye. There is nothing more frustrating than being on the water and not being able to get your tippet through the hook eye because its obstructed with glue.

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Steelhead Leech

Bright colors and a few strands of crystal flash do the trick.

Olive/Brown Trout Lake Leech

Sparkle Chenile with brown and olive maribou. A few wraps of lead wire below the chenile gets this one to work in a little deeper water.

Brown Trout Lake Leech

Copper Trout Lake Leech

I have found trout from different places respond differently to various tail color combinations and the amounts of maribou used. I have an entire flybox of leech patterns to attempt to cover all the possibilities.

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Different types of line and lead wrap on the fly will allow fishing at different depths.

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