Do mono loops work in preventing rabbit strip from fouling?

[robow7 0]

I've been tying a lot of zonker type flies for bass recently and though they have been successful, I find that every few casts that the rabbit fur tail wraps or fouls itself on the hook impeding the nice action. I've seen various articles about tying in a heavy mono loop off the rear end of the hook on which the bunny strip sits upon and supposedly keeps it from fouling but it seems to me that it might be something else to wrap around? Does this technique really work and/or does it require using a drop of super glue on the hide side down in order to attach it to the mono loop?

 

I read where someone mentioned that they use super glue on the hide side of the fur strip just past the end of the hook, letting it dry and stiffening up the tail just beyond the hook but leaving the last portion non glued so it still is limp and produces the desired action. Has anyone tried this or do you have another technique that you prefer to keep that tail from fouling? As always, thank you for your input.

 

 

[mikechell 0]

I haven't tied with zonker strips, so I can't help.

But I had to write to comment on the bass. THAT'S a nice fish!!!

[JoeBillingsley 0]

Yes, stiffening up the hide slightly past the bend of the hook works well. For me, it works much better than the mono loop.

 

Joe

[robow7 0]

Yes, stiffening up the hide slightly past the bend of the hook works well. For me, it works much better than the mono loop.

 

Joe

 

Joe, and how do you go about stiffening up your strip? Zap a gap/super glue or some other trick?

[flytire 0]

[Piker20 0]

I use a length of rigid mono, amnesia or similar and glue the strip with a flexible glue to it. I didn't find the loops worked all that great.

[JoeBillingsley 0]

I just paint a short area of the hide past the bend with super glue. It still has good movement where it isn't glued but the stiffer part keeps it from fouling.

 

Joe

[feathers5 0]

Good ideas. I've used the mono loop with acceptable results, but not great results.

[josephcsylvia 0]

I have really good results with it, I use heavy stiff mono like mason in #20 or #30 I also keep it short and wide loop.

[retrocarp 0]

Yes

[agn54 0]

I have used the mono loop and it works fine, but I prefer to use a small clump of buck tail (or even calf tail) under the strip to act as a platform of sorts. It also adds a nice profile to the tail. I've never had problems with fouling doing this

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've tied a lot of very long rabbit strip flies over the years, some even up to about 10". No matter what you do, the longer they are, the more likely they'll foul. You can keep those tails shorter, but I like the long flies, as I seem to get better fish with them. IMO, a wider strip also helps reduce fouling, so I cut most from whole hides.

 

I've seen some flies that used a single piece of heavy mono to stiffen the strips, where the end of the mono has a ball melted on it, like making eyes & is glued thru a hole in the strip. Don't care for that, as the strips don't move as nicely & it can cause the strips to tear too easily, but that can depend on the strips too as some will be much thinner than others.

 

When I first read about the loops, I was reluctant to use them. I have used them since, and I also like the hard mason for loops but haven't found them to stop all the fouling. They do help IMO and since the flies are so productive I live with the occasional fouling issue particularly with very long flies. Adding weed guards can help reduce fouling also on some. I agree with agn54 too, about adding another material such as bucktail under the strips. I've incorporated bucktail into strip flies like tying a Lefty's Deceiver so it shrouds the strip, not just under them. I tried stiff paint brush bristles (natural boar hair) also to act as a loop, and that works. Stiff synthetic hair, like crimped nylon works too, but I'm not a fan on these types of flies.

 

I've tried stiffening the strips too, but don't like the super glues because it soaks into the strips & sometimes gets brittle. Instead, I started using fabric paints, the type you can find in craft stores. They come in many colors, and there are some that create various textures & dry thicker than others, yet stay flexible. One I found dried clear, but had fine pearl glitter in it, which added a bit of flash. You may have to experiment to find one you like, but they're not expensive and a bottle goes a long ways.

[josephcsylvia 0]

Yea if you start getting into 10" sinker strips not much is going to completely prevent fouling. At most I use 4 /5" strips on my tarpon flies so the loop is almost flawless.

[tidewaterfly 0]

Joe, I tied them long like that to imitate eels for Striped Bass, but the majority of long strip flies I'll tie are 4" to 6". I've tied some recently for Bass & Redfish, with both a loop & weed guards that have about 3" to 4" tails which seldom foul.

[Piker20 0]

Tidewater makes the point of width. If you can cut your own and taper them from wide to narrow it helps a lot.

 

I've had good results with double bunny flies tying the top zonker in 4mm and the bottom zonker 2mm. It also reduces the overall hide weight when wet.