It’s funny how sometimes in fly tying there is an obstacle, technique, material, or tool that you know you are capable of doing but haven’t taken the time to figure out. We all have those projects tucked away somewhere in our fly tying supplies.  Well, one of mine was split thread dubbing. It’s a relatively easy task, but does require some practice.  Not all that long ago I asked Terry Johnson to demo spinning a rabbit collar in split thread. I took what I learned from Terry and used it to put together some micro leeches. 

If you flip rocks on the Bow river you are bound to run into leeches. They are a great year-round food source for trout. I used to have great success with a leech that was really nothing more than a bit of rabbit strip and a couple strands of krystal flash tied on a hook. Now that I have this newly learned collaring skill I look forward to trying these leeches in the spring.

Materials

Hook: Daiichi 1560 #10

Thread: Danville’s flat waxed nylon

Rib: Black ultra wire

Body: Holographic black tinsel

Wing: Small strip of pine squirrel zonker black

Collar: Sparse rabbit strip