Fly: Hale Bopp Leech
Tied by: Larry Lack

The Hale Bopp Leech was first developed in the late 1990's by Derek Fergus while hanging out at Oregon's Davis Lake. Derek gave the name Hale Bopp to this Mohair Leech pattern because of the appearance of the Comet Hale Bopp.
Developed for stillwater fisheries, tied in various colors, the Hale Bopp Leech has produced fish in all seasons and numerous waters throughout the west. I have caught trout, 5 lb. largemouth, and 9" bluegill with this fly. The fly is fished with floating line in shallow water, clear intermediate line in water 10-20 feet deep and sinking lines in deeper situations. The fly can be stripped n various ways (for example, short & quick, long & slow, or erratically) or trolled. In some cases, it's effective to allow the fly to sink to the bottom.
Then using a short strip, occasionally move the fly off the bottom. There are many variations of the Hale Bopp - bead head or not, weighted or not. Common colors include black, olive, brown, yellow, red, claret or white. Some patterns palmer hackle through the body. Keeping the materials sparse and picking out the dubbing while folding it back as you add material is important. The pattern
should look sparse and lean.

Hook - Tiemco 5262, size 10 or 12
Thread - Olive or black, 70 denier
Bead - Gold or Bronze
Rib - Small wire, silver or gold
Tail - Marabou, about length of hook shaft
Flash - Krystal flash, same color as tail, 2 strands on each side
Body - Mohair leech yarn, with strands pulled back each turn
Gills - Red thread, 70 denier