Simi Seal Leech

the ultimate in simplicity and effectiveness

Simi Seal Leeches of many colors

Complexity of Canadian Black

About ten years ago, I was in Phoenix on a business trip, and I decided to find a local fly shop in the area where I was working.  Like I often do, I asked one of the shop employees if they had any local patterns that they could show me.  He pointed to a wall of dubbing behind him and said "You ever heard of Arizona Simi Seal dubbing?"  I hadn't heard of it before, but I told him that I had some real seal the I used quite a bit.  He explained that Simi Seal was a completely different animal even though it bore the name "seal."

He sat me down at a vise and quickly showed me how to tie one, and man was it simple...  The whole fly was made of the same material, but it looked really good!  He gladly assisted me in helping me spend about $50, and off I went.  I would later return to the shop a few months later to tell them how great this bug fished...  I eventually met John Rohmer a.k.a. the Godfather of Dubbing.  He is the mastermind behind the great dubbings that I discovered that day, and is a wealth of information when it comes to dubbing, and fly materials in general.  He is one of the guys that I really look up to when it comes

Original Simi Seal Leech

to pure innovation in tying, and his influence is probably already on your tying bench without you even knowing it.  He has his hands in the dubbing of a lot of major manufacturers.

Since I started fishing Simi Seal Leeches, I have all but stopped fishing plain jane wooly buggers on lakes.  I have caught fish on every color that John makes, and he has told me many times "We don't make colors that don't work."  I think that about sums it up.

My favorite Simi Seal Leech colors are:

Canadian Brown

Canadian Black

Bronze Peacock
Golden Peacock

Blood Leech

Peacock

Black

DW Brown

Note: You can tie a longer leech with the fibers of Mega Simi Seal, which is the same material, just longer fibers.

~Cheech

Material List

Add to Cart

View in store

                    

Hook: Firehole Sticks 839 Streamer Hook - 8
Thread: Plummeting Tungsten Beads - Black Nickel - 3/16" (4.6mm)
Thread: UTC Ultrathread 70 Denier - Red
Body: Arizona Simi Seal - Canadian Brown

Other tools from the tutorial:
  

Stonfo Comb/Brush Tool

I know...  Don't you wish all fly recipes looked like that?

The video shows two effective techniques so be sure to watch them both.