pastor norm 125 Report post Posted October 21, 2015 I have enjoyed fishing for brookies and rainbows under the ice in the interior of BC. Live bait is banned there and we had to be inventive. A consistent producer in Edna Lake near Kamloops was a weighted marabou leech with the tail pinched at the tip and held with a drop of glue so the marabou would puff up like the natural with vertical jigging. Another version of the leech was a micro leech tied on a slightly bent jig hook with a sliver of red or green crystal flash embedded in a sparse marabou tail. We hung the fly under a pinched on strike indicator perhaps two to four feet below the ice. The take was extremely subtle considering the size of the fish we would catch so you had to watch that indicator carefully. Yet another hot fly was what we called the "dirty sock", named for the light grey socks we used to wear under our boots. We actually sacrificed one of our socks just to wrap a piece around a small hook and tie it in with cyan thread to represent the blue hints we saw in live freshwater shrimp the trout were gorging themselves with. The hook had to be presented on the horizontal and held still while we watched the trout scooting by. Our success with the pattern got the attention of hidden BC fisheries officer who was certain we using live bait and that we were over our limits in chunky brookies. He took a close look at the ugly fly and had to laugh while he watched us catch our last two fish. I don't have these flies any more but I intend to tie some for this winter. The photos are not my own but represent my intentions. I also hope to tie an articulated leech jig similar to the picture below that might serve well winter and summer for trout and walleye. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Beamer Report post Posted October 24, 2015 I tie little micro jigs(1/16 ounce) that work well under the ice, mainly for steelhead Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Beamer Report post Posted October 24, 2015 These leech patterns work well too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pastor norm 125 Report post Posted October 24, 2015 Well done. I will have to tie some of those for steelhead, too Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Thefishleclair 174 Report post Posted December 6, 2015 Going to try my hand at spinning some for Herring, That's if the bay freezes! Quote Grumpas' Baits Check it out on FB Share this post Link to post Share on other sites