Overview

The BMW, short for Brian's Marabou Wiggler, comes from Canadian stillwater authority Brian Chan and is tied by Montana Fly Company. It is a small marabou leech built to imitate the micro leeches trout find over shoals, and its slim, mobile body also suggests damselfly nymphs and other lake insects.

Marabou is the reason it works. The tail and body breathe with the slightest movement, so the fly looks alive whether it is crawled, drifted or hung under an indicator. This barred version adds a mottled pattern through the marabou that breaks up the outline the way a natural leech's markings do, which helps in clear water where trout get a long look.

Euro Specs

• Hook: Standard nymph-style hook per the tying recipe (not a jig).
• Role: Stillwater indicator or retrieve fly; can serve as the point fly of a two-fly lake rig.

How to Fish It

• Under an indicator: suspend it just off the bottom or above the weed tops over shoals and drop-offs, and let the wind and chop give it life.
• Slow strip or hand-twist: on a floating or intermediate line, a slow, steady retrieve lets the marabou breathe and swim like a small leech.
• Slow drift: fish it from a drifting boat or float tube along a shoal edge, keeping in contact with the fly.
• Start the day with it: it is a strong opening fly in spring and early summer, and again over shallow shoals in late fall.
• During chironomid hatches: darker versions, fished slowly near the bottom, often take trout that are feeding on midge pupae even though the fly looks large for the hatch.

Choosing Color and Size

This listing is Tan / Black in size 12. The barred tan and black pattern reads as a mottled natural leech, a good choice for clear lakes, sunny days and shallow shoals where a solid dark fly can look too heavy.