Deer Hair Rabbit Strip Diver

[jamesbrock3 0]

Recently had the urge to get better at making deer hair bugs. This is my first attempt of a rabbit strip diver (second attempt to tie a diver). The first pic is it without the eyes (so you can see how it was packed and trimmed), the second is with the eyes on. Please let me know what you think!!

[Rocco 0]

Bet it looks like a baby beaver when wet!

 

It sure looks like a Smallmouth agitator.

 

Rocco

[corney 0]

That's a nice bug! I would tie the tail a bit longer for pike but that's what I would use it for.

[Bruce Derington 0]

Your deer hair skills are good, and when I tie deer hair streamers I always weight them, if your going to tie smaller fly's I would tie smaller heads, what size hook is this. I think tail should be longer, when I tie longer tails, I start by tying in a small piece of 20# mono (off back of hook), then tie in rabbit strip and poke hole in it and run mono through it and then bring mono forward and tie down (this helps to keep rabbit from twisting around hook)

 

Nice job on these, lets see more

[jamesbrock3 0]

Bruce, I tied this on a size 2 hook. I plan on fishing this with full sinking line. Can you post a picture of what you mean with mono? Thanks!

[mikechell 0]

Bruce ... running mono through the rabbit strip? Isn't that counter-productive? Doesn't that ruin the supply movement of the strip?

[Bruce Derington 0]

I think I miss spoke, on some streamers I use a mono loop , and for some tails (mostly top water stuff) I use 'the hole throught the strip, sorry bout that.

[mike george 0]

I use a "tailing loop" to keep the rabbit strip from wrapping around the hook. You can see this on my web site on the fly tying page. It works. Www.deerhairsculptures.com

[MuskyFlyGuy 0]

I cannot get my collars to look this nice. I use a packer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tom

[artimus001 0]

I cannot get my collars to look this nice. I use a packer. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Tom

here is a great video that shows how to make a nice collar.

 

[Bryon Anderson 0]

Nice-looking fly - your deer hair work looks pretty good to me.

 

I tie a fly almost identical to that, except I've switched from the rabbit strip to saddle hackles for the tail. The hackles soak up a lot less water than the rabbit and make the fly a lot easier to cast, but then I fish mine as a surface fly. In rivers I cast it straight across the current and let it swing like a streamer. I "pop" the fly, which makes it surge forward, gurgle and make a trail of bubbles in the water; then I let it dead-drift until the slack line created by the "pop" is straightened again, and repeat the process. It usually gets crushed by a smallmouth on the 3rd or 4th "pop".

 

In larger sizes, this same pattern makes a decent mouse imitation for "mousing" for big browns.

[jamesbrock3 0]

I only use rabbit strip when tying subsurface swimming flies. I use this fly like I would a crankbait, stripping it hard and letting it bounce of logs and such. That's is also why I use a sinking line rather than tying this fly with lead. I'm not trying to make it stay deep, but rather rise and fish the middle to upper water column. How deep I want to fish this is all dependent on my leader length