How to Fish a Balanced Leech

Fish a balanced leech below an indicator when you want to hold a leech profile at a chosen depth. Start with a non-slip loop, check the wet fly’s hanging angle, and adjust depth and motion before changing colors. You can also remove the indicator and retrieve the fly through reachable water.

Quick answer: A balanced leech is designed to hang closer to horizontal when suspended from its eye. Check the actual fly in water. Use one fly, an indicator that supports it and a depth setting that clears the bottom or weeds. Gentle motion is enough to begin; experiment with a slow retrieve when you need to cover more water.

What makes a leech “balanced”?

In the familiar bead-forward design, weight extends ahead of the hook eye to counterbalance the hook and dressing behind it. The attachment point allows a different suspended attitude from a conventional leech tied at its front. Jerry McBride explains that design in his May 5, 2025 discussion with Phil Rowley.

Balanced describes the intended presentation. It does not tell you the fly’s exact weight, sinking speed or angle in your rig. Those depend on the actual tie and connection. A photograph on a dry background cannot settle the question.

The distinction matters most under an indicator. There, a fly can spend time in a small part of the water column while its materials move. When you retrieve it, the direction of pull changes. Do not expect the same stationary angle during every strip or pause.

Begin with one actual fly

Our examples use Balanced Leech — Red — #10. Balanced Leech — Blue — #8 is the other exact option used in this guide. Red and Blue are the store’s option labels; they do not mean the entire fly is that color.

Start with Red #10 and learn how that specimen behaves. If you later switch to Blue #8, you change size as well as color. A different result cannot be attributed to color alone. Recheck the hanging angle, indicator support and fishing depth after changing flies.

You do not need to add another fly immediately. One terminal fly makes it easier to inspect the connection, follow the depth setting and see whether vegetation is fouling the hook. McBride also describes a preference for a single-fly indicator approach in his June 16, 2025 fishing lesson. That preference is useful for learning; it is not a claim that every multi-fly rig is wrong.

A shallow-water starting rig

This is the same suspended setup explained in the fall Strawberry lesson. It is an example for accessible water, not a formula for every lake or depth.

1. Connect floating fly line to a 9-foot tapered 3X leader using the factory loops.
2. Add 12 finished inches of 4X fluorocarbon with a double surgeon’s knot. Allow extra material for tying; measure after seating the knots.
3. Tie Balanced Leech, Red #10, with a non-slip mono loop about ¼ inch long. Include the loop in the 12-inch measurement to the fly eye. The nominal complete leader is 10 feet.
4. In an example with 6 feet of water and a clear bottom, position an adjustable indicator 5 feet above the fly eye, measured along the leader. The intended starting layer is about a foot above bottom.

Use nominal 0.008-inch 3X and 0.007-inch 4X, checking the actual spools. Do not infer breaking strength from an X label alone. Choose an indicator that grips the actual leader section and carries the wet fly while remaining readable. There is no added split shot and no second fly.

The taper is a practical limitation. Rowley favors level material below an indicator because a tapered leader can form an arc and leave the fly shallower than the measured separation suggests. Rowley and Landon Mayer, April 20, 2026. If the starting setup will not hold the intended layer, change the leader system or choose reachable water; moving the indicator is not always enough.

Tie the connection, then test it in water

For this non-slip loop, make a loose overhand knot in the tippet. Pass the tag through the fly eye and back through the overhand knot. Make six wraps around the standing line, return the tag through the same side of the overhand opening, wet the knot and seat it while keeping the small loop. Follow the instructions for your actual material and pull-test the connection. Six wraps are this example, not a universal rule for every line. Tim Flagler’s non-slip-loop lesson varies the turn count with the material.

Experienced anglers differ in their knot preferences. Rowley describes loop knots for his conventional balanced flies, while Mayer discusses seated knots for his balanced presentations and loops for retrieved leech jigs. The fly design and intended action matter. A clinch knot is not automatically wrong, and a loop does not repair a poorly balanced specimen. Rowley’s balanced-fly explanation, Mayer’s explanation.

Before the first cast, fully wet the fly and suspend it from the actual tippet in clear water beside a safe position. Keep the fly clear of the bottom. Look at it from the side, then give the line one small movement and let it settle. Check whether fibers are caught around the eye, loop or hook bend.

If it hangs unexpectedly nose-down or tail-down, inspect and retie the connection, clear trapped material and test again. Compare another specimen if needed. The aim is to know what you are presenting, not to force every fly into a photographically perfect angle.

Find the fishing depth, not just the leader length

Five feet between indicator and eye measures the rig. It does not prove the fly is five feet vertically down. Wind, line bow and movement can change that. The lake bottom can also rise beneath a drifting presentation.

Use a suitable depth locator or sounder at the intended fishing position. A measurement beside your feet does not establish the depth of a distant cast. If you use a removable locator on the fly, retrieve and remove it before fishing. Set the presentation above the bottom or weed tops, then inspect what comes back.

A fly repeatedly returning with weed needs a shallower setting, a different path or a change of location. Move the indicator closer to the fly in small steps. If you have evidence that fish are deeper and the fly is clear, increase the separation carefully and check again. Do not assume the best layer is always immediately above bottom; fish can feed higher.

Keep a short record: measured water depth, indicator separation, fly and response. This is more useful than remembering only the indicator’s position on yesterday’s leader.

Let the fly move without continually towing it

Start by allowing gentle surface movement to work the indicator. Retrieve excess slack so you can respond, without pulling the fly through the whole area. Watch both the indicator and the line leading to it.

In calm water, test one short draw of line and let the rig settle again. Compare that with leaving it alone for a similar interval. In a ripple, the indicator already supplies movement; adding repeated large pulls may simply move the fly out of the layer you meant to fish. These are comparisons to make, not a rule that calm water needs constant action or that waves always improve the fishing.

An indicator dipping, traveling sideways or stopping against its previous movement deserves attention. Draw up the available slack and lift smoothly to come tight. Keep the response controlled; a violent overhead strike can break fine tippet or pull a fly away. Once connected, let the rod absorb movement and manage the remaining loose line.

Wind also changes where the rig travels. If you cannot control or read it, shorten the cast, change position or choose more sheltered water. An attractive-looking ripple is not a reason to lose control of your presentation.

Retrieve it when you need to explore

A balanced leech can also be retrieved. Rowley describes that use in a January 3, 2025 interview with California Fly Fisher; the pattern is not restricted to hanging below a float. Keep expectations tied to the method: a moving fly may pitch or change angle during the retrieve.

For a simple floating-line comparison, use a 7-foot-6-inch tapered 3X leader plus 18 finished inches of 3X, joined with a double surgeon’s knot. Tie the Red #10 Balanced Leech with the same small non-slip loop. The nominal total is 9 feet. Leave off the indicator, shot and any trailing fly.

Begin with short, slow strips and pauses. Compare a five-second settling count with ten seconds while keeping the cast and retrieve similar. Those counts are time, not feet of depth. Keep useful line contact through a pause, and watch the actual fly’s path in clear water where possible.

Fan a few casts across a reachable feature instead of retrieving the same track indefinitely. If a fish follows, test a smaller pull or longer pause before changing the fly. When you find a useful area or feeding level, returning to the indicator can hold a presentation there longer.

Make the next change count

After several controlled presentations, inspect the fly first. Then check depth and the path through the water. Compare motion next, followed by profile or size. Change location when the water gives you no reason to remain.

Compare the exact Single options on the Balanced Leech listing: Red #10 and Blue #8 are the two examples in this guide. Check the actual fly in your rig after switching. A different result may reflect size, construction or presentation as well as color; it does not establish that one color is always better.

Frequently asked questions

Does a balanced leech have to be fished under an indicator?

No. You can suspend it to spend time at a chosen level or retrieve it through reachable water. Its angle can change while moving. Use a line and leader that reach the intended layer, and keep the two presentations as deliberate comparisons.

Do I have to use a loop knot?

A small non-slip loop is the starting connection here, but it is not the only workable choice. Anglers use different connections with different fly designs. Check the actual wet fly with your knot and tippet rather than assuming either a loop or clinch always gives the correct angle.

Why is my balanced leech hanging nose-down?

Check for trapped material, a fouled hook or a connection that restricts movement. Wet the fly fully and inspect it while suspended clear of the bottom. Retie or compare another specimen if needed. The pattern name alone does not establish the angle of your particular fly.

Which Balanced Leech options does this guide compare?

Balanced Leech — Red — #10 and Balanced Leech — Blue — #8. These are different sizes as well as different color options. Recheck presentation after switching; a changed result does not isolate color as the cause.

Keep learning

• Three Woolly Bugger Retrieves
• What Should I Fish When Nothing Is Hatching?
• Fall Fly Fishing at Strawberry

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