One week before the FAOL Annual Fish-In, LadyFisher asked
a favor of me. She wanted some flies tied for the night
fishing, at the Fish-In. The fly was
The Creature, by Gary LaFontiane (FOTW #193). So naturally
I said yes, to LadyFisher's request. I was fresh out of Rabbit
Fur (strips) and Salmon Hooks. So off I went to the Fly Angler
Fly Fishing Store (in Fridley, Minnesota), and there I got this
week's Tying Tip, from Scott Struif who works there.
I found out there are two types of rabbit strips. There are
the straight cut rabbit strip (Zonker style) and the cross-cut
rabbit strip.
The straight cut rabbit strip, is cut out of the rabbit hide,
starting at the neck, and ending at the rabbit tail. All
the hairs stand straight up and is bent back along the strip.
The cross-cut rabbit strip, is cut out of the rabbit hide,
at a diagonal to what the straight cut would be. The hair
is bent to the side of the rabbit strip.
If you are just wanting a rabbit strip as a tail on a fly,
you want the straight cut strips.
For wrapping a fly's body with a rabbit strip you can use
either the straight or cross-cut strips. Each will give
the fly a different look. The straight cut will give a
puffier looking fly. The cross-cut will have the rabbit
hair laying down along the fly, giving the fly a slimmer
profile, and easier casting.
Here is an extra tip! While tying 'The Creature,' I needed
rabbit dubbing to match the rabbit strips I was using.
So all I did was use scrap pieces of the rabbit strips,
pulling the rabbit hair off for the dubbing.
Thank You Scott Struif, for taking the time and answering
all my questions, and also for teaching me something I
didn't know. And Thank You for this week's Tying Tip. ~Parnelli
Please check out the Fly Tying Section, on the
Bulletin Board, on FAOL too.
If you have any questions, tips, or techniques; send them along.
Someone else thought up most of this material before we did,
they just forgot to tell anyone about it. Or else we just
forgot about it, while learning something else. Let us
share with each other, all the things we know!
~ Steven H.
McGarthwaite (Chat Room AKA Parnelli)
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