Black Leech
Imitates: Leech
Quick Reference
- Best Sizes
- #6-10
- Best Season
- Year-round (peaks spring and fall)
- Best Conditions
- Lakes, slow rivers, deep pools, low-light
- Water Temp
- 40-65°F
- Recommended Tippet
- 2X-4X fluorocarbon
How to Rig It
Single streamer on a short leader. Intermediate or sink-tip line in lakes; floating line with weight in rivers.
How to Present It
Slow strip-pause-strip retrieve. Leeches swim with an undulating motion — long pauses let the rabbit strip pulse and breathe. Fish hit on the pause more often than the strip.
Why It Works
Rabbit zonker strips create a hypnotic undulating motion in the water that perfectly imitates a swimming leech. Black is the universal silhouette — leeches show as dark shapes against any background. Trout, bass, and pike all key on this profile.
History
Bunny leech variants emerged in the 1980s when zonker strip materials became widely available. Now standard for stillwater trout, steelhead, and warmwater species.
Pro Tip
In lakes, fish a black bunny leech on an intermediate line with a slow figure-8 retrieve. Big trout cruise the drop-offs at dawn and crush leeches imitating natural cripples.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do you fish a Black Leech?+
Lakes, slow rivers, and deep pools. Anywhere leeches live — which is essentially every coldwater fishery in North America.
How fast should I strip a leech fly?+
Slow. Long pauses with short strips — leeches undulate, they don't dart. Most strikes come on the pause.
What color leech is best?+
Black is universal. Brown and olive also produce in clear water; purple is a sleeper for pre-spawn lake trout.
Not sure if Black Leech is right today?
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