It's been awhile since I did a step by step and I'm making leech flies for some still-water fishing so.........
This is a tube application and I use both tube liner (HMH brand) and scraps from tying with Pro Tubes.
To start you need a piece of liner about 3/16" or so.
Slide that onto the mandrel and secure some 0/8 thread.
Next secure a thin strip of black bunny hide about 3 1/2" long or so.
Remove that from the mandrel and place an equally short piece of tubing on the pin and secure thread, I use black here.
Now moisten the fur and secure the strip to the 'front' tube section allowing about 3 1/2 to 4" trailing. Your section of tube liner is at the back end of the strip.
Trim the fur strip and secure with thread. Now apply hackle, I used marabou on this one but schlappen is good also. With the back of the feather facing you strip the fibers from the right side. This allows for the quill to be wrapped with all remaining fibers directed toward the rear as you wind it on.
Now's where this gets interesting, after the hackle is secured put on a small black cone head and trim / melt the front of the tubing to keep the cone tight.
I thread about three foot of 14.5 pound fluorocarbon through the front tube and then put an overhand knot (loose) in the line. Leave a 5 or six inch tag end and pass it through the rear tube and then attach a hook. I use #4 Owner here.
To attach the hook take the tag up through the eye then around the eye and back down, this will secure the hook with a loop. Pass the tag back through the tube and take it through the 'circle' created by the over hand knot. After through the circle wrap around the line 4 times and pass back through from the opposite side. You are creating a Jam Knot here. Carefully adjust the open circle so that you have proper distance between the knot and the hook of about 4" and pull the knot tight.
This takes practice but once you've got it figured out it's just another knot. When done correctly the jam knot will catch behind the front tube and the hook will rest just behind the rear allowing the fur strip to fully extend between the two.
When you are done rigging the flies are ready to fish with no further knot tying.
Once you get it down the finished product should have the hook right at the very end of the leech for those who like to nip at the rear-end of a fly.
On the end of the line I place a double surgeon knot because I find them stronger than the perfection loop. Just loop to loop onto a level 20 pound leader and it's good to go.
So why all this trouble to tie a leech and pre-rig them you ask? Yes you can just make a strip of bunny on a hook and it may very well work but......... Trust me when I say that the action created by this design is unbelievably realistic. Strip slowly and in those few seconds between each move of the fly the little cone will have it swimming and undulating downward while the fur strip wiggles in a hard to ignore manner. There is nothing between the cone head and the hook but the fur and some leader so they wiggle like there's nothing there! When rigged proper they don't tangle or foul either, I like em.
If you are familiar with making jam knots for tubes you can come up with perhaps an easier way to get connected. I'll be fishing the one here before days end today. I keep 3 or 4 for each trip. Because they are tied on 14.5 pound you don't lose many
This is a tube application and I use both tube liner (HMH brand) and scraps from tying with Pro Tubes.
To start you need a piece of liner about 3/16" or so.
Slide that onto the mandrel and secure some 0/8 thread.
Next secure a thin strip of black bunny hide about 3 1/2" long or so.
Remove that from the mandrel and place an equally short piece of tubing on the pin and secure thread, I use black here.
Now moisten the fur and secure the strip to the 'front' tube section allowing about 3 1/2 to 4" trailing. Your section of tube liner is at the back end of the strip.
Trim the fur strip and secure with thread. Now apply hackle, I used marabou on this one but schlappen is good also. With the back of the feather facing you strip the fibers from the right side. This allows for the quill to be wrapped with all remaining fibers directed toward the rear as you wind it on.
Now's where this gets interesting, after the hackle is secured put on a small black cone head and trim / melt the front of the tubing to keep the cone tight.
I thread about three foot of 14.5 pound fluorocarbon through the front tube and then put an overhand knot (loose) in the line. Leave a 5 or six inch tag end and pass it through the rear tube and then attach a hook. I use #4 Owner here.
To attach the hook take the tag up through the eye then around the eye and back down, this will secure the hook with a loop. Pass the tag back through the tube and take it through the 'circle' created by the over hand knot. After through the circle wrap around the line 4 times and pass back through from the opposite side. You are creating a Jam Knot here. Carefully adjust the open circle so that you have proper distance between the knot and the hook of about 4" and pull the knot tight.
This takes practice but once you've got it figured out it's just another knot. When done correctly the jam knot will catch behind the front tube and the hook will rest just behind the rear allowing the fur strip to fully extend between the two.
When you are done rigging the flies are ready to fish with no further knot tying.
Once you get it down the finished product should have the hook right at the very end of the leech for those who like to nip at the rear-end of a fly.
On the end of the line I place a double surgeon knot because I find them stronger than the perfection loop. Just loop to loop onto a level 20 pound leader and it's good to go.
So why all this trouble to tie a leech and pre-rig them you ask? Yes you can just make a strip of bunny on a hook and it may very well work but......... Trust me when I say that the action created by this design is unbelievably realistic. Strip slowly and in those few seconds between each move of the fly the little cone will have it swimming and undulating downward while the fur strip wiggles in a hard to ignore manner. There is nothing between the cone head and the hook but the fur and some leader so they wiggle like there's nothing there! When rigged proper they don't tangle or foul either, I like em.
If you are familiar with making jam knots for tubes you can come up with perhaps an easier way to get connected. I'll be fishing the one here before days end today. I keep 3 or 4 for each trip. Because they are tied on 14.5 pound you don't lose many