what about late fall most effective flies?

[retreive]

I was wondering if there was a real favorite in your box for the local lakes that would be most effective at this time of the year .

I am new on this forum but not on Bc fishingreports. Just trying to learn things i still lack in terms of Lake fly fishing. I can tell you I have all the books I am even starting to tie my own flies and that is why I am becoming active on this forum too.
thank you all in advance.

P.S. I intend to use only 4 wt and 5wt rods and set ups for the lakes. so the sizes of the flies and weights should be proportionate (I presume).

[11th Warrior]

Late fall? Leeches!

[retreive]

Of course there is no doubt that leeches will be one of the main patterns.
I am a bit puzzled there.
I saw on this forum photos of leeches that actually do not look like one another.
what I mean to say is leech tied in shiny black with a touch of olive on the bottom pr even maroon and dark red.
But some of the photos here show micro leeches that look stiff and hardly any of those would imitate a real deal. they more look like a wooly bugger then anything else to me.\
you guys see what I mean.
In my books leech is a elongated elegant marabou or hair's fur that would expand on the pause and constrict on the stripping motion. the once I saw here would hardly qualify for a motion of that nature, I mean they are too stiff.

[eagledays]

Hey retreive... Too good!

My thoughts many many times.

Can't wait for some answers.

Sometimes I just figure that they just aren't too fussy...

[nebc]

Just as is the case with the variety you have seen in leech patterns here, nature too has a lot of variety. There are tiny leeches that make up a lot of the fish diets that are available to them, there are also large ones. There are ones that alter their colors to suit their surroundings as well, and we all know the variety of habitat niches fish occupy so it comes as no real surprise that many insects reflect this as well, and leeches do too.

For some lakes there are locally popular patterns that reflect this and one should take heed.

That being said, there are some things that are common to a good leech pattern and one important factor might be color but also I think almost equally it is how alive the fibers appear as they are fished. To that end you might have noted the better patterns also include some flash as well as long, fine fiber lengths that accentuate movement and best represent the natural leech.

Use Google.ca as it can work wonders for beginners and experienced fishers alike, Google the topic 'fly fishing leeches'

[nebc]

Another point one might make is the fact that many flies are tied in such a way as to generally represent a variety of food items. Leech patterns like some woolly bugger styles can be mistaken for leeches while some like JohnK's Pumpkinhead can be taken by fish thinking it is a damselfly nymph..or whatever goes on in those wet noodles.

[johnk]

Of course there is no doubt that leeches will be one of the main patterns.
I am a bit puzzled there.
I saw on this forum photos of leeches that actually do not look like one another.
what I mean to say is leech tied in shiny black with a touch of olive on the bottom pr even maroon and dark red.
But some of the photos here show micro leeches that look stiff and hardly any of those would imitate a real deal. they more look like a wooly bugger then anything else to me.\
you guys see what I mean.
In my books leech is a elongated elegant marabou or hair's fur that would expand on the pause and constrict on the stripping motion. the once I saw here would hardly qualify for a motion of that nature, I mean they are too stiff.

We, as fly tyers, are artists of impressionism. We are not trying to recreate the food source yet trying to imitate the impression of a food source. Sometimes it's the movement of a breatheable material that triggers a strike and sometimes it's the silhouette.

I have been a big fan of leech patterns for some time and after watching leeches move in their natural habitat I have noticed a couple things. First, when leeches undulate the back half seems to be a lighter colour when subjected to light due to less body mass. In regards to the blood leech, they are actually two different colours. The bottom is a crimson maroon colour whereas the top is almost black.

Don't get me wrong. I do believe in tying with materials that will make the pattern more animated in the water but if that was the only determining factor then I should stop fishing leeches under an indicator which, by the way, is extremely productive.

[nebc]

Hey John, I have meant to ask if you set up for using the leech under the indicator by extending the hook shank forward of the eye to a bead and hook it up to your tippet as a balanced fly?

[troutpocket]

I've been fishing a pattern a lot this fall that has a marabou tail like a bugger but with an added marabou wing like a leech then a couple wraps of crystal chenille for a thorax (color to match or contrast with the tail) and a turn or two of pheasant or partridge softhackle for a collar. I've been tying it on a #8 streamer hook. It "breathes" well on a pull-pause retrieve but has a totally different silhouette than a standard bugger (which is a go-to leech for me even if it doesn't really imitate one very accurately). I saw Denny Rickards tie this bug at a show last March and it's been solid for me this fall, especially fished very shallow right in and around weeds.

[johnk]

Hey John, I have meant to ask if you set up for using the leech under the indicator by extending the hook shank forward of the eye to a bead and hook it up to your tippet as a balanced fly?

No, I experimented with the balanced leech concept a couple years back but found no greater benefit than suspending leeches vertically so I gave up on it.