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Leeches are invertebrates and belong to the family Annelida which is the same as worms. There are some 20 different genera of leeches distributed around Australia and many are available as food for trout and other fish. The general form is similar they have bodies that are not segmented and are around 30 mm long when contracted and up to 80 mm when extended. Colors range from black through to olives and browns. I tie this fly in dark olive only and use it not only as a leech pattern but also for use when trout are on daphnia or when there may be olive damsel nymphs about.

Materials

Process

A	Wind the thread in touching turns to the bend of the hook and then back along 95% of the shank of the hook toward the eye. Tie a clump of marabou in on top of the hook shank with the tips extending over the top of the hook and behind the hook a distance equal to the length of the hook shank. Tails on flies

B	Take the thread back down to the bend of the hook binding the marabou to the shank of the hook as you go. Form a dubbing loop at the bend of the hook and return the thread back toward the eye of the hook to the 95% mark. Dubbing loop method of dubbing

C	Select a length of cross cut Zonker and careful place it lengthwise between the dubbing loop.

D	Cut the leather of the Zonker strip and twist the end of the dubbing loop so that the thread locks the Zonker dubbing into a twisted rope.

E	Wind the dubbing rope forward to the eye of the hook in touching turns stroking the fibres back toward the tail as you proceed. Build up a neat head, whip finish and varnish. Neat heads on flies

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