Jeff's Leadeye Trout Bunny

I must confess......I am not a purist and occasionally I love to throw streamers.  I love them all.  And patterns tied with rabbit fur or rabbit strips I especially love.  They move, they breathe, they
have incredible action........and fish love them.   

One of my favorites for many, many years for big fish has been a zonker.  One, it has a lot of fish appeal and sports a great profile as a seemingly tasty mouthful for a fish.  Few materials breathe with lifelike action like rabbit fur, and this fly is no exception.  One trick I have always liked is not lashing the end of the rabbit strip down; many other tyers, Dan Bailey of "Dan Baileys Fly Shop MT" fame does likewise, and it really adds to the action of the fly.  Adding flash material as a tail makes a real difference as well, it gives tantalizing flash and moves alot due to the "turbulence" and displacement of water that is caused by the movement of the rabbit strip.  Tie up a few and try them, I think you'll agree they are a killer.  One tip, tie the zonker strip as shown as tying them longer accounts for some short strikes and the strip will foul on the hook .

Its interesting how many folks never or have never fished anything but wooly buggers for trout and other species.  This is a great fly to add to a southeastern US trout and smallmouth box.  When tied in all white it is a smoking hot streamer pattern for browns on East TN's South Holston and Watauga tailwaters....I used to love slinging them during high water floats on the SoHo.  Tan, Gray, White, Black, Olive, all are good colors.  Few materials have the movement of rabbit hide/hair,  they almost "breathe"- - -saying   "I'm alive...."  to any predator fish nearby.

The eyes on the bottom makes it track nice and straight, and it has a great up and down action.  I tie a lot of my rabbit strip patterns this way.  Try a few out, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.  Have fun and good tying!



Materials:
Hook:  Streamer Hook, sizes 4-10
Thread:  6/0 Unithread or UTC 140
Tail:   Mylar, or similar flash material,  flashabou works well
Ribbing:  Silver Wire
Body:  Yarn, light tan/pink, color that mimics the underside of a baitfish, white works well too
Wing:  Zonker Strip, Natural, white, or gray, all work well
Head:   Lead eyes or similar, size appropriate to hook, size 8 fly shown, uses small lead eye,
color doesn't matter
Throat:  Tuft of rabbit fur just like wing


Directions for Tying Jeff's Leadeye Trout Bunny


Steps 1 - 3:  Start thread as shown and make a thread base, going all the way to a point just above the hook bend.  Make two thread humps as shown, put a drop of super glue on the 'humps' (I prefer Instant Krazy Glue w/ the brush- -no mess and it never dries up to where you can't get the cap off).


  Steps 4-6:  Tie in lead eyes as shown, placing them in the 'crevice' between the two humps, and on the underside of the hook.  Secure with figure 8 or 'X' wraps.  Tie in 6-8 strands of flashabou off the rear as shown, making the bunch of  'fbou' slightly longer than the hook length.


  Steps 7-9:  Secure the flashabout and then tie in a 4in piece of silver wire and then a piece of light colored yarn (works well as it soaks up water), and then allow both the wire and the yarn to trail back to the rear off  the hook bend.


  Steps 10-12:  Wrap the thread back over the yarn and then carry the thread forward to just back of the eyes.  Wrap the yarn forward to form the body.  Tie off and trim.  Then wrap the wire forward, tie off, and trim. 


Steps 13-15  Position thread behind eyes as shown.  The wing material (rabbit strip) is going to be tied down n two areas.  Stroke some fur back from the front end of the zonker strip (against the 'grain')and tie down as shown behind the eyes.  Secure with several tight turns.  Push the end of the strip back, bring the thread in front of the eyes.  Part one of the wing tie down is done.


Steps 16-18  Pull end of strip down just back of hook eye and tie down as shown.  Trim excess and make a neat tapered head as shown.  Rotate your vise or invert the hook and select a tuft of rabbit fur for the throat.  I prefer to cut about a 3/16" to a 1/4" piece of hide and use the hide as a 'holding tab" and use the fur attached as the throat.  Put tuft in position as shown and tie down.


Steps 19-21  Secure the tuft, trim and make a nice neat tapered head.  Whip finish and cement.  The finished brown trout 'killa'.  If this fly could talk, it would say to all trout, and especially all the big guys......"come on, you can't be first but you can be next..."






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                          Tying a Rolled Muddler Minnow Streamer

                       

Scott's Virtual Fly Box - Rolled Muddler Minnow from Scott Rinn on Vimeo.

                                
                                     



                                                         

                                                            

                                                   Jeffrey Wilkins Fly Tying
                                          3703 Windspray Court 
                                                             Summerfield, NC 27358
                                           (336) 644-7775   jeff@jeffreywilkinsflyfishing.com