The Jig Leech is a fly that I’ve been using for about a year now. It’s been extremely successful for both stillwater trout and big Natal scalys. It’s stupidly simple to tie as well, which is great when you need to whip up a dozen the night before a fishing trip. In stillwater I like to fish it either as the point fly under a bung or as a single fly for stockies. When it comes to scalys a slow strip in the deep pools is often what’s needed to entice the larger specimens. This one is tied on a size 14 wide gape jig but you can tie them as big or as small as you want. However, the wide gape is extremely important when fishing for big fish like stillwater trout or trophy scalys with a relatively small fly. The olive and red has been a great colour for me for stillwater trout but tie them in a few different colours.
Hook: Partridge wide gape jig.
Thread: 12/0 waxed thread, I like the Semperfli stuff.
Tail/body/wing: Micro mink zonker.
Bead: Red slotted tungsten.
Collar: Olive CDC
Cut off a piece of mink zonker at least twice the length of the hook.
Pierce the mink hide before putting the hook in the vice, then build up a thread body with a nice bump at the back to stop the zonker sliding up the shank.
Bring the zonker over top of the fly.
Tie down the zonker, it can help to wet the hairs with some saliva and split them.
Trim the zonker and prepare a bulldog clip with CDC. One feather is usually all you need.
Spin up the dubbing loop and wrap a nice, sparse collar.
Whp finish, and there’s your fly...
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