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Rabbit Strip Patterns

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I recently came into a bunch of rabbit steps. Can anyone recommend some patterns? Salt or bass would be welcome. Thanks. Gary.

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I've used this one to catch everything from smallmouth bass to small tuna. You can alter it to fit most situations by changing colors, using fluffier hackle, lengthening the tail, or adjusting the weight. Be sure to use a mono loop tail support to prevent fouling. Not fancy, but it'll catch virtually anything under a wide variety of conditions.

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That's a regular strip or zonker strip for hair that lies flat along the skin. The cross cut stuff is to wind around as a collar or body but gets heavy when wet and seems less popular than it did 15 years ago. Synthetic materials for big light heads seems to have overtaken crosscut.

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Simplest and absolutely deadly pattern with rabbit is take a strip of regular cut (not cross cut), tie in for the tail at the bend with a foul guard, and then palmer another strip along the shank (doesn't need to be cross cut). Whip finish and go fish. It's a bunny leach, but I have seen countless other slight variations with different names. It's basically a seaducer with all rabbit instead of hackles. It will catch anything that eats baitfish. You can also add eyes if you like. One more tip, you can use a sparse clump of buck tail under the tail as a foul guard rather than the mono loop. I do it a bit and it does stop fouling

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Its a good way to use the butts of bucktail that you are left with when you use the tips for wings etc.

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Did someone say rabbit????

 

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I love tying with rabbit strips, but will agree with earlier comments about flies getting heavy and difficult to cast. But nothing wiggles like a rabbit tail, and I have caught everything under the sun on an all-white rabbit pattern ......

 

 

AP

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This is the kind of question that would be best answered by Google. You can get hundreds of images and links to websites where you can get step by step tying instructions. I'm just sayin... :)

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I did Google it. The same zonker strip fly keeps coming up. That's why I asked here. AP, those are great looking flies. They have a name so I can Google it?

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When doing a Google search ... click the "images" button. When you get a page full of pictures, clicking on one you like will allow you to go to the webpage it's posted on. Usually, when you do this, you'll get a couple dozen pictures and then something that's NOT what you're looking for at all. But with zonker strip flies ... hundreds of appropriate flies and articles pictures came up.

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Rabbit is useful in quite a few different patterns. This particular pattern is called a Swamp Rabbit and it's one of the royalty patterns I have with Umpqua... Done up on an Owner Aki hook -it will take tarpon worldwide.. The one Umpqua produces is on a 2/0 hook and actually does come with the wire weedguard shown.

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How about a grinnel fly? A deer hair head, with a rabbit strip tail, make sure to use a mono fouling guard though.

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There are many good flies tied with rabbit strips that can be used in saltwater or for bass. The one agn54 mentioned is one of the easiest to tie & weight can be added in the different forms (barbell, bead chain, beads, cones, wire) if you need it. I like that type of fly with some small brass barbells. Here's a few. Some I tied, some were purchased from other sources.

 

This one is basically the same fly, but with larger painted eyes.

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Same in black.

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Another variation with lead wire weight along the shank prior to wrapping the body.

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Tied on a jig hook. There's a piece of foam glued to the tails to lift the tail. Gives a different look to it. These were purchased from another tier.Again a basic pattern

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Another purchased fly. Different type conehead & body with 2 colors.

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Same type, with some marabou in the tail. Also purchased.

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Zonkers are great for bass & on saltwater type hooks work for many species.

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A simple pattern I like for bass & Striped Bass. Thin 1/8" wide rabbit strip tail. 2/0 spinnerbait hook.

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Same basic fly without barbells.

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A "bugger" or Crystal Minnow style.

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Another fairly large one, on a 2/0 hook. The tail was cut tapered.

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Bead head variation.

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Lead barbells & bar dyed rabbit strip. You can add the barred effect with a permanent marker, but it's not as nice as the dyed & fades pretty fast.

This ones about 8" long tied on a 2/0 plastic worm hook.(straight shank)

 

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Matuka style. 2/0 hook. Has a hackle collar, but rabbit could also be used.

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Hackle Flash & rabbit body.

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