Bunny Leech

HOOK: 5263, sizes 2-10. Weight the hook with either a bead head or wire wraps; most of the weight should be in the front half of the fly. THREAD: To match body TAIL: Thin strip of straight-cut rabbit, on the skin. BODY: Thin strip of cross-cut rabbit. Wrap around hook shank from back to front. Tie in a few strands of Krystal Flash at the head.

Uses

As a general-purpose streamer, this is a superb fly. It is useful in lakes and in slower portions of rivers. The rabbit fur moves in a lifelike fashion, and the fly just looks alive and tantalizing to big trout.

 
Frankly, I've never thought this fly looked much like a leech; it's too fat. But I am convinced that--for whatever reason--trout love it, and that's good enough for me.

Variations

Good color choices: white, bugundy, purple, black, brown, dark olive, yellow-olive.

How to Fish

Use the count-down-and-retrieve or slow retrieve presentations. Vary the retrieve until you find what works best at the moment: slow and steady, fast, strip-and-pause, or quick, short two-inch strips. Also, wind-drifting works well in lakes. I've even picked up trout by letting the fly sink slowly with no additional action.