LeechDiamond Jig Leech
The Diamond Jig Leech is a Fly Fish Food pattern that combines the effectiveness of Arizona Diamond Dub with a jig-style presentation. The matte black tungsten bead and black red diamond dub create a dark, buggy profile with subtle flash that triggers strikes from trout in both moving water and stillwater. Built on a barbless jig hook, this pattern rides point-up to reduce snags.
Year Round
Intermediate
Trout
Dec 2025
Overview
This Fly Fish Food pattern by Cheech showcases the effectiveness of Arizona Diamond Dub for creating buggy, sparkle-filled leech patterns. The black red color combination provides a dark base with subtle red highlights that become visible as the fly moves through the water. The matte black tungsten bead adds weight without excessive flash, allowing the diamond dub body to provide all the attraction needed.
Materials
Hook: Umpqua XC400BL-BN (or Hanak H 400 BL Jig Hook), #8
Thread: Danville 140 Denier Waxed Flymaster Plus Thread, black
Bead: Fulling Mill Slotted Tungsten Beads, matte black, 3.8mm
Tail: Nature's Spirit Premium Bugger Bou, black
Body: Arizona Diamond Dub, black red
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: These aquatic worms propel themselves with rhythmic body contractions creating wavelike ripples along their length. When crossing open water between cover, leeches become easy high-protein targets that trout consume opportunistically year-round.
Where Trout Eat It: Trout hunt leeches throughout the water column along weed edges, pocket water, pool tail-outs, and structure.
How to Fish It: Dead drift through holding water or use slow strip retrieve, letting diamond dub body catch light and create flash with every movement.
Best Water: Work deep runs, pocket water, pool tail-outs, weed edges, and structure where leeches migrate.
Strike Type: Trout track this pattern and take with steady acceleration, producing gradual line draws rather than sudden strikes. Feel the rod load progressively as fish swim away with the leech, often pausing briefly to reposition the fly before continuing their run with sustained pressure.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on 9-12 foot leader with 4X-5X fluorocarbon tippet. The 3.8mm tungsten bead provides adequate weight for reaching deeper holding water. Works well as a point fly or anchor fly in multi-fly rigs.
Seasonal Timing: effectiveness with peak performance during low-light conditions when the subtle flash of the diamond dub becomes more visible to trout. Choose this pattern when fish are responding to dark, buggy profiles with subtle flash.
Pro Tips: The matte black tungsten bead provides rapid sink rates without flash. The black red Arizona Diamond Dub creates a distinctive silhouette with internal sparkle that catches light as the fly moves through the water column.
Entomology
Leeches swim through stillwater and slow current with a distinctive undulating motion, their ribbon-like bodies contracting and extending in rhythmic waves. Trout target these protein-rich invertebrates opportunistically, especially when leeches are swimming between cover or across open water where they become vulnerable to predation.
- Organism Type
- leech
- Life Stage
- general