Spectrumized Leeches

[Jeff Brooks]

When the first new Utah on the Fly web page look was released a couple of weeks ago I posted this request but then the web page went down again and it was lost. I'm posting this again for two reasons:

1- Someone responded with suggestions for some books I should look at but the site went down before I could retrieve the information…
2- I actually posted this in the wrong forum and I wanted to give the fly tiers a chance to respond.

Spectrumized Leeches

Over the past few months I've become interested in mixing my own custom dubbing mixes to match color combinations for leech patterns that you just can't buy off the shelf.

I started out by conducting an inventory of the most successful patterns over the past 3 years from my numerous fly boxes (and by default that basically meant that I got the results from the dozens of Stillwater fly fisherman that I've talked to over the same 3 years about their most successful patterns) and I discovered something that had eluded me about the best flies in the box, namely, that for the most part (nearly 80%, yes, I did the math) those flies were made from "spectrumized" materials such as the "Canadian Brown Mohair" that all of you are familiar with.

That got me to thinking about the way in which I wanted to proceed and I decided that it was important to use at least 3 different materials, or at least 3 different colors of the same kinds of materials in any given dubbing mix if I wanted to develop the same kinds of "spectrumized" dubbed leech patterns. I then looked at photographs of the real creatures that we're all trying to imitate and I noticed for the first time that many of the animals or insects display many colors in a sort of iridescent or spectrumized fashion.

After all of this musing at the fly tying table I paid a visit to Lance at Fish Tech and we started to experiment with the first 3 or 4 color combinations that I had in mind (Bye the way, Lance really has an eye for which color combinations are complimentary and I would have never gotten off to a successful start without his help).

After several weeks of experimenting I've developed over a dozen "spectrumized" dubbing combinations that cover most of the color spectrum and most of the mixes use 6-10 different colors or materials and some of them have as many as 15 different ingredients while a few of them only required 3-4 different ingredients.

Now to my questions (sorry for the long introductory diatribe):

Are any of you aware if there is a book that covers what I've been describing? I've only been tying with dubbing materials for a couple of years and I suspect that someone has already gone to the pain of describing how to mix and match colors to get the desired results.

Let me know…

Jeff

[cardiac]

Jeff, I'm not sure this site will help you, it's about Gary Borger's color system (BCS). He has some books on it. You might try this avenue.
Alan
http://www.scintilladub.com/dubbing.html

[Ouzel]

I applaud your attention to detail and it sounds like you are trying to cover all the bases.
Have you tried contacting the various mfgs. (Spectrum?) of that type of material as their knowledge of usable color combinations or if they know of a author/title of a book written on the subject. Often they are contacted by the author for supplies to develope flies.
Try "www.slco.us.ut.com" to get online with the library system.
I sure we all would be interested to hear more of your quest.
Good fortunes to you.

[mcgx2]

I've been out of town for a few days visiting family. I recommended some books on materials on your first post, I don't know if they will help but they may give you some Ideas.

Dyeing and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials
by A. K. Best, John Gierach; The Lyons Press; ISBN: 1558212140

The International Guide to Fly-Tying Materials
by Barry Ord Clarke, Robert Spaight;

Modern Fly-Tying Materials
by Dick Talleur, Richard W. Talleur; The Lyons Press; ISBN: 1558213449

I hope they help

mcg

[Jeff Brooks]

Everyone,

Thanks for the helpful suggestions. One of these days I might even get ambitious enough to type up the recepies for the "Spectrumized" leech body materials that I've created.

When (if) I do, I'll post the info for everyone to use.

Jeff

[Larry S.]

I found Mel Moore's web site. Apparently he is in the process of building a new one.

His site is located at http://clix.to/StillwaterFlyPatterns.

I think he still has the "Tubin' Times" stuff and I'm sure will entertain your questions.

[cardiac]

Larry, Dennis Brakke from the Fly Desk in WV has some of Mel's
Tubin times dubbing. We got some from him a couple months ago.
Alan

[Jeff Brooks]

I've promissed several of you that I would post the recipe to my "Spectrumized" leech patterns so here is fulfilling a promise...

I've recently been able to experiment with some of the patterns on some of our local stillwaters and they have been awesome...

JB

May 15, 2002

Spectrumized Leech
Pattern Materials List
Created by Jeff Brooks


All of the materials I used can be secured by visiting both Fish Tech and Sportsman Warehouse in Salt Lake City with the exception of the unique Umpqua materials and colors, which I found at Anglers Inn. Unfortunately no one store carried everything I needed to create these mixes. Lance Egan at Fish Tech was indispensable in helping me to get started with my custom mixes. Enjoy using them…


Base Body for the following Brown, Copper, Gold, Pink, and Orange Leeches:

1.Begin with two packages of Burnt Orange seal-sub dubbing.
2.Add one package of Umpqua Crystal Seal in Cream or similar substitute.
3.Add equal and generous amounts of Gold, Copper, Copper-Pearl, and Red Lite-Brite or Flashabou to give lots of shine to the mix. It will get thinned down naturally as you mix the various patterns below.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder. With large amounts of material you will have to mix it in smaller portions or groups. Be sure to mix all of it thoroughly.


Dark Brown Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add most of 1 package of Umpqua African Goat in Claret (dark purple).
3.Add equal and generous amounts of Gold and Red Lite-Brite or Flashabou.
4.Add equal amount of Ice Dub Silver Holographic dubbing.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Light Copper Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add ½ package of enhancer dubbing in Orange.
3.Add most of 1 package of seal-sub dubbing in Brown.
4.Add 1/3 package of Flashabou or Lite-Brite dubbing in Orange.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Dark Copper Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add ½ package of enhancer dubbing in Red.
3.Add most of 1 package of seal-sub dubbing in Brown.
4.Add 1/3 package of Flashabou or Lite-Brite dubbing in Red.
5.Add 1/3 package of Flashabou or Lite-Brite dubbing in Copper.
6.Mix well in a coffee grinder.



Gold Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add ½ package of enhancer dubbing in Ginger.
3.Add 1/3 package of Flashabou or Lite-Brite dubbing in Gold.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Pink Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add most of 1 package of Kaufman Blends Golden Stone.
3.Add 1/3 package of Lite-Brite dubbing in Salmon Pink.
4.Add smaller amounts of Lite-Brite in Red and Rainbow.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Orange Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a handful of the Base Body material.
2.Add ½ package of enhancer dubbing in Yellow.
3.Add most of 1 package of seal-sub dubbing in Yellow.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


This marks the end of the patterns that are mixed from the original Base Body mix.




The "Electric" Spectrumized Leech Dubbing Mixes


Electric Black Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Black.
2.Add equal portions of Flashabou or Lite-Brite dubbing in Gold, and Red.
3.Add an equal amount of Ice Dub Silver Holographic dubbing.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric Burnt Orange Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Burnt Orange.
2.Add equal portions of Lite-Brite dubbing in Rainbow (green and purple) and Copper.
3.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric Brown Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Brown.
2.Add ½ package of Canadian Series Seal-Sub in Wine.
3.Add equal portions of Lite-Brite dubbing in Purple Haze, Copper-Pearl, and Salmon Pink.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric Burgundy Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Wine.
2.Add ½ package of Seal-Sub in Red.
3.Add most of a package of Ice Dub in Red.
4.Add equal amounts of Lite-Brite or Flashabou in Burgundy, Red, and Gold.
5.Add Black Seal-sub as necessary to get the Burgundy tone that you desire.
6.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric Purple Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Purple.
2.Add 1/3 package of Pseudo Seal Dubbing in Purple.
3.Add generous and equal amounts of Lite-Brite in Rainbow and Purple Haze.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric Pond-Olive Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Canadian Series Seal-sub in Pond Olive (At Sportsman's you can buy it loose in the package without being spun onto the black thread).
2.Add 1/3 package of Seal-Sub in Red.
3.Add equal amounts of Lite-Brite in Peacock, Emerald, Copper-Pearl, and Red.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Electric White Spectrumized Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in White.
2.Add most of a package of Umpqua Crystal Seal in Cream.
3.Add generous and equal portions of Flashabou in Pearl, and Lite-Brite in Pearl Blue.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


This is the end of the "Electric" Spectrumized mixes.


Other Specialty Spectrumized Dubbing Mixes


Black Bart Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Black.
2.Add equal and generous portions of the Orvis brand long flashabou in gold and blue.
3.Add an equal amount of Lite-Brite in Gold.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Red Pseudo Seal Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Pseudo Seal Dubbing in Red.
2.Add 1/3 package of Pseudo Seal Dubbing in Olive.
3.Add Brown Seal-sub to darken color.
4.Add a small amount of Lite-Brite Pearl Blue.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Light Olive Damsel and Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Light Olive or Fur Dubb-It in Medium Olive (I preferred the color of the "Fur Dubb-It" which you can buy at Fish Tech).
2.Add ¼ package of Pseudo Seal Dubbing in Olive.
3.Add Lite-Brite in Black until you can see the black fibers mixed lightly throughout the mix.
4.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Medium Olive Damsel and Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Medium Olive.
2.Add 1/3 package of Kaufman Blend Brown Stone to darken.
3.Add ¼ package of Pseudo Seal Dubbing in Olive for highlights.
4.Add equal portions of Lite-Brite in Copper, Gold, and Emerald.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.


Dark Olive Damsel and Leech Dubbing

1.Begin with a package of Seal-Sub dubbing in Medium Olive.
2.Add ½ package of Kaufman Blend Brown Stone to darken.
3.Add ½ package of Dark Olive Seal-sub to darken.
4.Add equal portions of Lite-Brite Emerald, and of Ice Dub Silver Holographic dubbing.
5.Mix well in a coffee grinder.



There will be more Spectrumized dubbing mixes to come in the future.

[Fred]

Jeff,

Sounds like you have produced a lot of nice patterns. Can I just buy a few of each from you?

Also, relative to your other patterns, do you find that they have been working better? If so, what do you attribute it to? Do you think it's the color? Do you think some will work better in the spring, rather than the summer or fall? In other words, what is the theory behind the color choice? Are you trying to imitate a leech that you have actually seen? Are you weighting the leeches and fishing them deep?

Where are you fishing these days, anyway?

[Jeff Brooks]

Fred,

A couple of days ago I fished at an undisclosed Stillwater here in Northern Utah and I finally got the chance to experiment with a few of the new spectrumized leech patterns that I created over the winter (Light Copper, Dark Brown, the new Black Bart, and Electric Burnt Orange). I don't know if the fish were just hungry or whether I've stumbled onto something here or not, but I was in a zone of unbelievable fishing.

As soon as the fly patterns hit the water or within a few strips I had a fish. And I ended the afternoon with over 60 fish in hand and about that many missed strikes in 6 hours of fishing.

Last year I got to experiment quite a lot with the Electric Black pattern that another fishing friend turned me onto as well as a couple of other early developmental patterns in brown and I had some similar experiences on the water with that dubbing material.

I think that because the material reflects multiple colors at once, that they more closely approximate the iridescent coloring of many living prey items. The Light Copper pattern for instance put off an orange-peach-cream "glow" and I took 17 fish in 17 consecutive casts with vicious strikes.

If you look closely at many of the commercially available chenille's and mohair's and other dubbing materials you'll see that many of them are made from 3 or more colors which creates sort of a spectrumized look to the material and I think that that is what the fish are keying in on because if you look at the live creatures that they are feeding on, they all reflect many colors of the rainbow when you turn them in the sunlight.

Anyway, I'm excited about having something new to try and so far I'm very pleased with the results, unfortunately I don't have the time to tie flies for sale, I can barely keep up with my own needs for flies but now that you have the recipe for the dubbing you can tie all you want…

[carpman]

Hey Jeff, thanks for the plug. It sounds like you really have those spectrumized colors dialed. Keep fishin' and let me know if there are any more materials that you need........................Lance

[grouser]

I saw a video on tying streamers by Shane Stalcup and he wove mohair to create multi color streamers that looked really good. I'll have to tie some up and try them. Anyone else woven mohair streamers?

[ronan]

Jeff,

Thanks for the recipes. I want to create some dubbing and then tie some flies.

What do you use for the tail? Also, do you wrap any gold wire for ribbing and strength?

[Jeff Brooks]

Ronan,

I use a complimentary colored marabou tail and I usually add 4 strands of matching Crystal Flash in the tail.

Because I dub using a tightly twisted dubbing loop additional strength has never been as issue. I have dubbed flies that have caught dozens of fish and they still look like new.

Good Luck.

[Jeff Brooks]

Several of you have sent me email asking about the success of the spectrumized leech patterns on Stillwater, and having fished them now for more that 1 year, I can report that the success rate (the number of fish caught per hour) has gone beyond my wildest hopes or expectations.

Now, they are not the panacea to all conditions or situations to be sure, but due to the ability of the mixed materials to reflect more spectrumized light, I have found that with rare exceptions, that one of the color patterns is usually apt to get the attention of fish and my catch rate is reflective of that difference. I do a lot of experimenting and even if I’m catching a lot of fish with a particular pattern, I like to toss a variety of other patterns in various situations and log the success/failure rates of the various flies. This gives me a basis from which to catalogue the various patterns that work best on different waters, and I’m really happy to have added the spectrumized leech patterns to the list of top performers for some of our local waters.

And from my experimentation, I think it is very important to use materials that reflect the color spectrum whether you mix your own, or whether you use other off the shelf products that do the same thing. Of the more than 100 stillwater patterns that I fish, the top 30 or so producers are all tied of materials that are spectrumized in some form or another!!!

A few of you have also tied and used the spectrumized patterns that I provided earlier in this thread last year and I would love to read a report from you about your experience with them.

[Fred]

Jeff,

Thanks for the info. Glad to see one of your posts. it's been awhile.

Sounds like your flies rock.

What hook and sizes do you like?

[Sumner Newman]

Good to see a post from you again - it's been a while. Mike Andreason who started the Fly Desk and then sold it to Dennis, might be a guy you'd want to talk to about this. He has a couple of books out on stillwater patterns, although these books really don't deal with your topic of interest here. However, I visit with him a lot and he seems to be a guy who knows a lot about colors and color schemes (had a hair dressing business in his younger days). He also tells me he's the guy who came up with the "recipe" for CBS (Canadian Brown Seal) used in his CBS leech - a very effective pattern. He's a very skilled tyer also.

A question for you if you don't mind. Do you weight any of your leech patterns? If so, could you describe how much and where on the hook shank you put the weight. Thx.

[Jeff Brooks]

To Fred and Sumner,

I do not add any weight to the flies, and I tie them on a Tiemco 5263 size 8. Tails are usually a matching color of marabou or pheasant rump with 4 strands of matching flashabou in the tail.

I've been really busy with other things and something had to go... I'll try to drop in more often now.