Overview
Charlie Craven developed this jig hook variant to improve the original Mini Leech's performance in rocky, snag-prone water. The point-up hook orientation dramatically reduces hang-ups while maintaining hooking efficiency. The addition of holographic tinsel to the body creates a subtle flash that mimics the iridescence of natural leeches. This pattern has become a staple in competition fly fishing circles.
Related patterns
Behavior & presentation
- Natural Behavior
- Leeches compress bodies into tight S-curves before releasing in rapid swimming bursts, creating subtle pressure waves. This stop-and-go pattern signals easy meals since leeches cannot sustain prolonged escapes. Opportunistic trout have learned to recognize this vulnerability.
- Where Trout Eat It
- Fish intercept leeches throughout water columns in lakes and deep runs in streams. Focus on weed edges, drop-offs, and shoals in lakes, or boulder gardens and undercut banks in streams.
- How to Fish It
- In streams, euro tight-line with short controlled drifts. In lakes, countdown sink then retrieve with slow 4-inch strips and pauses.
- Best Water
- Target weed edges, drop-offs, shoals, undercut banks, and structure breaks where leeches swim between zones.
- Strike Type
- Steady pull or gradual line draw as fish turn with the fly.
Fishing strategy
- Rigging Suggestions
- Fish on 10-12 foot euro leader with 5X-6X fluorocarbon tippet. Excellent as the point fly in a two-fly euro rig with a lighter pattern as dropper. The jig hook design eliminates the need for additional weight in most situations.
- Seasonal Timing
- Productive in both moving and still waters. Particularly effective during periods when water temperatures trigger increased leech activity.
- Pro Tips
- The slotted tungsten bead provides excellent weight distribution for a natural jigging action as the fly sinks. Holographic tinsel catches light and creates flash visible in deeper water.
Where to fish it
Rivers anglers pair with this fly, with local shops that stock it.
River details and fly shops from River & Run, our sister site.
Entomology
Leeches exhibit a characteristic swimming motion where they compress their bodies into tight S-curves before releasing in rapid bursts of speed, creating subtle pressure waves that predators detect. This stop-and-go movement pattern signals an easy meal to opportunistic trout that have learned leeches cannot sustain prolonged escape attempts.
- Organism
- leech
- Life stage
- general
Pattern details
- Moving Water
- Stillwater
- Rocky Mountain
- active-retrieve
- strip-retrieve
- competition
- guide-fly
- jigging
- low-clear-water
- tailwater
- freestone
