rabbit fur for the strymph?

[Sagittarius62]

Newbie here,

I was looking at Harry Murray's [url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/100702fotw.html:3a8f0]Strymph[/url:3a8f0]. Is he using rabbit dubbing, crosscut rabbit, blended rabbit, or some other type of product?

[rookie]

It is hair cut from the body and placed in a dubbing loop.

[waynep]

I took a class that tied these once. We used zonker strips. Cut the skin off after the hair was in the dubbing loop but before you twist it up.

wayne

[Sagittarius62]

Thanks. I want to tie some of these. H&H doesn't seem to have just chunks of rabbit skin. At least I couldn't find them on their site. Zonker strips it is.

[Flyrodde]

I have found rabbit hides at AC Moore and Micheals craft stores. They came in white and natural brown. If you need other colors you can die them. I don't recall the exact price but it was about $5-$7 a skin. You can also cut your out strips out of them and its a ton cheaper than buying precut strips.

[WarrenP]

I have tied this pattern and used it for several years and it is a very good pattern. It was created for bass, but, tied on a #10 or 12 hook, it will catch a lot of trout too. I always have this pattern with me no matter where I am fishing.

I fill the dubbing loop with rabbit fur cut from a skin or cut from a zonker strip but I have discovered that you can also use chenille and the fish do not seem to notice. Using chenille sure makes tying them a lot quicker.

Just my thoughts

[Sagittarius62]

WarrenP,

Do you shape the chenille like Skip does with the rabbit?

[WarrenP]

No...That is why using the chenille saves so much tying time. I put down a thread base on the hook shank, put 8 wraps of #25 lead wire on the shank, tie in the ostrich tail, tie in the chenille, wrap the chenille to the eye, tie in the hackle, form the collar and whip finish.

I have them tied with black tail, black chenille body and brown collar plus tied in olive with brown hackle collar.

I really have not seen any difference using the chenille or the cut and trimmed rabbit body as far as fish catching ratio.

You do not have to weight them. I just have a habit of weighting most of my patterns to get them down faster. The weight combined with a furled leader gets them down pretty quickly for me.

Try using chenille and see what happens and be sure to experiment with different color bodies and tails. This pattern is a "go-to" pattern for me and it has produced many fish.

[Sagittarius62]

WarrenP,

Thanks, I will give that a try.

[WarrenP]

I'm sorry...One more suggestion. I use a longer hackle for the collar than Skip does in the tying demostration. I think Mr. Murray's hackle was a lot longer. I have the article for tying the Strymph and the hackle was at least back to the hook point. The article was in Fly Tyer magazine and I think it was the Fall 1998 or 1999 edition.

I will try and leave you alone now! I get "wound" up in my fly tying. I just love it.