LeechMarabou Blood Leech
The Marabou Blood Leech from BCFlyguys is a super simple yet highly effective stillwater leech pattern designed for beginner fly tyers. This straightforward pattern uses marabou to create the characteristic undulating movement that makes leech patterns so effective on BC Interior lakes and similar stillwater environments.
Year Round
Beginner
Trout
Dec 2025
Overview
This BCFlyguys beginner pattern demonstrates how simple materials can create effective flies. The marabou tail and body provide the lifelike movement that triggers strikes from stillwater trout. The blood red coloration mimics natural blood leeches found in BC Interior lakes, making this a confidence pattern for stillwater anglers.
Materials
Hook: Scud or curved nymph hook, #10-14
Thread: Black or maroon, 8/0
Bead: Tungsten Black
Tail: Marabou, blood leech
Body: Semi Seal dubbing, blood leech
Rib: Red wire
Behavior & Presentation
Natural Behavior: Blood leeches pulse through lake water with distinctive elongation-contraction swimming, their bright red bodies signaling high blood content. Lake trout associate this coloration with vulnerable, nutrient-dense prey that swims slowly enough for easy interception.
Where Trout Eat It: Cruising trout intercept swimming leeches throughout the water column in lakes and ponds, particularly along weed edges and over shoals. Drop-offs funnel migrating leeches into ambush zones.
How to Fish It: Indicator fishing at specific depths or slow hand-twist retrieves activate the marabou's natural undulation. Minimal angler input allows the materials to provide lifelike motion.
Best Water: Work weed edges where leeches hunt for prey, shoals that cruising trout patrol, and drop-offs that concentrate vertical migrations.
Strike Type: Steady pull-downs or gradual line draws signal fish swimming away with the fly, requiring firm strip-sets.
Fishing Strategy
Rigging Suggestions: Fish on 12-15 foot leader with 5X-6X fluorocarbon tippet under a sensitive strike indicator. The bead provides adequate weight for shoal presentations.
Seasonal Timing: effectiveness in BC Interior lakes and similar lake environments. Blood leeches are present throughout the year, making this a reliable searching pattern.
Pro Tips: The blood red marabou provides excellent visibility in various water conditions. The bead ensures proper sink rate for reaching cruising trout while the marabou tail creates enticing movement at rest.
Entomology
Blood leeches pulse through stillwater environments with a distinctive swimming style, their bodies elongating and contracting as they search for fish hosts or invertebrate prey. The bright red coloration that makes them visually striking also signals high blood content, triggering feeding responses from lake-dwelling trout that associate this color with vulnerable, nutrient-dense prey.
- Organism Type
- leech
- Life Stage
- general