These just seem to catch fish. Some days, one color seems to be better than others. Current favorite color is brown. I tie most on size 1 90 degree jig hooks, qamakatsu or owner. #24 bankers pin for the extension, 1/8" or 5/32" tungsten bead. Marabou tail, Arizona Simi Seal dubbed on in a dubbing loop. Outfishes a bead head bugger, at least that's been my experience. Presents differently, with a more horizontal motion on the strip as opposed to the bugger.

I fish these with floating fly line and no indicator. I fish as deep as water that is 10 feet, but that doesn't mean the fish are right on the bottom. If I want to fish deeper, I lengthen the fluorocarbon leader a couple of feet. But they will get whatever predator fish is feeding, at least channel catfish, crappie and Largemouth Bass. The size 1 hooks keep sunfish away. Strip, pause, strip, pause, vary it up, different days, different cadence and speed. A five or six weight will toss them with ease far enough.

Anyway, just some information on a possible add to your box if you tie your own. I enjoy rolling these jigs through the feeding zone. I'll likely switch over to deer hair divers when the fish start surface feeding.

Awesome pictures!

I wonder what happened to the crappie. LOL

Brown Pelicans and Comorants are always on the attack out on the lake. So are water turkeys and Osprey. My guess it�s a cormorant that did the damage. Have caught a bass or two with similar gashes. Twice, I�ve found crappie on the bank still alive with obvious trauma. I think that was done by Osprey. There�s a couple of bald eagles that sometimes harass the Osprey into dropping their catch.

Thank you for sharing!

Lost a 6-7 pound bass two days ago on a chartreuse tailed one. I let it get too deep into the dock pilings. Thought I'd better tie more, the bass fishing is really heating up here. Fish are still out in deeper water, but they seem to be hungry.

Been catching LMB after dark especially early morning throughout the winter, give it a try.

I haven�t done a lot of night fishing. Used to stay out in the boat a little after twilight when I fished baitcasting gear. I�ve done a saltwater kayak trip or two in the dark. Fishing the lights in a development is okay, but the unlit bay and marsh at night in a kayak is a little too exposed for my tastes. I�ve done it in a bigger Jon boat and that seems a little better. Still, I get a little preoccupied with not running into nasty and injurious stuff in the dark to enjoy fishing like I do in the daylight.

Read about folks hooking bats after sundown with their flies, no thank you to that. I have zero desire working to remove a bloody hook from a potential and quite likely ticked off rabies and other disease vector with sharp teeth. Plus, I need every visual cue I can get to avoid hooking trees and snags during daylight hours. How does anyone not blessed with owl vision fish around shoreline vegetation and snags with fly tackle in the dark?

I guess I could just fish the open water hoping for the best all the while worrying if this is the cast that gets me my first fly rod bat or if this is the night the water moccasin decides my boat looks like a convenient place to rest. Sounds like a great time.

Good one off the dock on the Chartreuse and Black Balanced leech. Out deep still.

I�ve started using the little size 8 Balanced leeches lately and they are really working well for the lake variety. Sunfish love them, catfish, Crappie and bass do too. Light enough to cast well for a two weight. I dragged in a couple of two pound channel cats last night at twilight with the 2 weight CGR, loved the bend in the rod.

Not every fly pattern can work well in different size ranges and across species. So far, the Balanced leech is a good pattern tied on size 1 down to size 8 hooks. I haven�t tried to go smaller. I did do a 1/0 hook version, but that one needs work.

Stillwater, the Balanced leech is a versatile choice for cold or warmwater species. I haven�t tried one in flowing water, but if woolly buggers and clousers work in those environments, I don�t see any reason the Balanced leech wouldn�t work there too.

I rehabilitated this size 8 Balanced leech today. It had come unraveled from use and all the dubbing was gone from the bead to the hook eye. I secured the loose thread, dubbed in more material and whipped finished.

The jig couldn�t miss on the Crappie this afternoon. Don�t give up on your ties too soon.

Latest crop. Balanced Leeches are really good for fishing slower and seem better than bead head woolly buggers in that respect. These are in the in between sizes, mostly size 6. Size eight is good for almost everything in the lake. The hooks are pretty easy to bend open, though.

Fished off this dock yesterday late afternoon and caught maybe two dozen Crappie, plus a couple of bass and bluegill. All slow rolling the golden shiner size 8 leech through the same spots over and over. The 2 weight 6�2� CGR was perfect as you can see there�s limbs and tight spaces to contend with. Fishing while enjoying an ale with my dad did not suck.