Overview
This Charlie's Fly Box pattern by Charlie Craven demonstrates the versatility of pine squirrel zonker strips for creating lifelike leech patterns. The natural guard hairs and underfur create a buggy profile with excellent movement in the water. The red flashabou provides a subtle hot spot that can trigger strikes without overwhelming the natural presentation. The pattern can be tied in various sizes from 12-16 to match conditions.
Related patterns
Behavior & presentation
- Natural Behavior
- Leeches undulate rhythmically through lakes and rivers, swimming with wavelike body contractions before pausing to rest. Their sinuous movement is unmistakable.
- Where Trout Eat It
- Fish hunt leeches throughout the water column in lakes, particularly near weed edges, drop-offs, and shoals. In streams, focus on pool tail-outs.
- How to Fish It
- Use slow strip-pause retrieves allowing the zonker to pulse during pauses. Dead drift also works in streams, letting materials breathe naturally.
- Best Water
- Work weed edges where leeches hide, drop-offs at depth transitions, shoals with vegetation, and tail-outs in streams.
- Strike Type
- Strikes feel like steady pulls or gradual line draws as fish swim away with the fly.
Fishing strategy
- Rigging Suggestions
- Fish on 9-12 foot leader with 5X-6X fluorocarbon tippet. The 3/32" tungsten bead provides adequate weight for most presentations. Can be fished as single fly or as dropper behind larger attractor patterns.
- Seasonal Timing
- effectiveness with peak performance in and . The rusty brown coloration matches natural leeches found in waters with decomposing organic matter.
- Pro Tips
- The copper tungsten bead provides moderate sink rates while adding a subtle attractor point. The rusty brown pine squirrel creates a natural silhouette that blends with the environment while the red flash provides a subtle trigger point.
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
These bloodsucking annelids glide through stillwater with sinuous contractions, their segmented bodies creating wavelike propulsion as they hunt for host organisms. During seasonal migrations toward shorelines, leeches expose themselves in open water where they're vulnerable to feeding trout. Fish consume leeches opportunistically because they represent substantial caloric value in a single strike, with no defensive mechanisms beyond their slimy coating.
- Organism
- leech
- Life stage
- general
Pattern details
- Moving Water
- Stillwater
- Rocky Mountain
- active-retrieve
- strip-retrieve
- attractor
- searching-pattern
- low-clear-water
