Drawing Flies 52 – 21_Strip Leech

Posted on May 20, 2010, 10:01 pm, by JB, under Artistic, Drawing Flies 52, Flies.

df52-21_stripleech

Drawing Flies 52 Strip Leech. A pattern of my father’s from a long time back (the glorious 70′s). This fly caught me my first ever 6+ pound brown trout (from Wyoming’s Green River) when I was 10 years old. It has done the deed all over the world, and for a broad spectrum of fish. Great fly, and one that I still use today (in a variety of colors and material variations).

I should note that GB’s birthday is a bit later this month, so this one’s for you, dad….

Tech info: Canson paper with four different pens (Pigma in 02, 05, 1, and “brush tip”), watercolor and blue foam underlay. Went for a “paint swatch” look and feel, like the drawing was a prototype for an upcoming construction project. I knew exactly where I was going the moment I started the fly, and didn’t slow down until it was done. Four different pens gave me everything from slices and sweeps to fine detail work. The watercolor went on fast and I didn’t get all possessive about detail. I wanted a certain look and I (mostly) got it. Went a little strong on the Chinese White, but I can live with it for this.

Jeff’s Strip Leech is here!

3 Comments

  1. Jeff Kennedy says:
    May 21, 2010 at 9:19 am

    JB-Digging the “engineered” look. I guess it is the textured blue background and the call outs that do it. Nice job on this one.

    Jeff

  2. JB says:
    May 21, 2010 at 1:35 pm

    Thanks, Jeff. The Doctor Oatman is next…

  3. matt says:
    May 21, 2010 at 3:24 pm

    JB,

    I love this fly. It’s the first really hardcore streamer that I ever fished and believed in. I still have a couple of color variations of this thing that are my ace flies when I go back to MT.

    Nice rendering, too. Really captures the motion and flow of that fly when you fish it well.

    Matt

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