Opening the Season
Our friend from Holland, Theo Bakelaar, has started his spring season with a trout fishing excursion to a Dutch stream that harbors trout. His successful fly of the day was a black and chartreuse streamer. This is the original color of the Black Strip Leech—the contrast of the black and chartreuse colors makes the fly easy to see, and even in dark water, black is still black. It makes a great profile fly. I originally used chartreuse for the tail of the Strip Leech because it’s the one color that is easiest for brown trout to see (as a side note, it’s also the easiest color for humans to see).
I will open my season this year in Austria right after the EWF show in Munich, Germany. The EWF is the largest, dedicated fly fishing show in Europe, and a great time to visit with friends from that part of the world. You can bet I will have some Black Strip Leeches with me.
Not a bad way to start the season, to be sure.
Now we’re talking!! Theo’s big smile is well deserved.
The Black Strip Leech in its original color and form.This fly has caught more big fish for me than any other fly I’ve ever used.