Tying the Double Bunny Streamer
Until recently, I considered the Double Bunny streamer to be a pike fly. Not that it IS one of course, but the warm water fly box is exactly where you would find mine. That is until last summer. While picking through the fly collection at a Calgary fly shop, I was shocked to see a few bins with Double Bunnies that were the length of my hand.
Considering I was about 2 minutes from the Bow river, I had to assume they were meant for trout. Not wanting to look too green at this, I asked the shop owner what they used these things for. “Bulls” was the one word reply. “That big?” I queried… “Thats not big.” Wow.
Well, that advice turned out to be pretty accurate. I caught big bulls on smaller streamers, but several on these monster, rabbit hide-consuming creations. If you’re ready to give your eyes a break, put the Blue Winged Olive patterns on the back burner, and start cementing some giant pieces of rabbit together! The resulting flies might just connect you to the biggest trout in your local waters! (..and yes, the bass and pike REALLY like it too!)
Scott Sanchez, the creator of this fly, uses Dai-Riki 700 hooks for his Double Bunnies. I prefer Tiemco 300s (6X Long) for mine, use whatever quality streamer hooks you like best.
Note:This pattern will have you doing some shopping at your local hardware store. Big flies=serious supplies! Goop is available in several places, the Val-A-Tearmender was a bit harder to track down. Check for dealer locations here; http://www.tearmender.com/ If you’ve never used Goop, i’d suggest you apply the eyes one at a time. Its very sticky, and dries very quickly. Practice with it a bit before you tie your first Double Bunny!
Double Bunny Streamer
Hook:Tiemco 300 size 2-4
Thread:White 3/0
Weight:Medium lead wire
Body:Magnum Rabbit Strips (Chinchilla over white illustrated here)
Sides:Pearl Krystal Flash and holographic tinsel or Flashabou
Eyes:3D self-adhesive (size to suit the hook size)
Adhesives:Val-A-Tearmender for the rabbit hide, Goop for the eyes
Wrap a single layer of lead, about half the shank length. Position it as shown, not too close to the eye.
Measure and cut the 2 pieces of rabbit hide you’ll be using. They should be almost twice the shank length~don’t worry about getting them exactly the same.
Cut a taper to the front end of the two rabbit strips. (they’ll tie in a little easier, and reduce the bulk of the head of the fly.
Hold up the belly strip (white in this case) as shown so that the front end is positioned right behind the eye of the hook.Using your scissors, mark the center of the hide where it aligns with end of the hook shank. (the point where the shank meets the bend)
At the point you marked, fold the hide and snip a small hole with the tips of your scissors.
Dub a thin layer of fur over the lead. This provides a good foundation for the adhesive you’ll be using soon. Remove the hook from the vise, and slip the point of the hook through the hole in the hide as shown. Stroke the fur away from the hook and position the hook back into your vise.
Position the white strip of hide under the shank of the hook as shown, and make several tight wraps of thread over the tapered, front end if it. Be careful not to crowd the eye of the hook.
Position the strip of Chinchilla rabbit hide on the top of the hook shank, directly over the white. Make several tight wraps of thread to secure it. Add a half hitch to secure it.
Squirt a small amount of Val-A-Tearmender onto a pc. of scrap cardboard. Pull the top strip of Chinchilla rabbit hide forward as shown and, using a toothpick or bodkin, spread a thin layer of the adhesive over the skin. Be careful not to get any on the fur. Note:It helps to keep the hide under tension while you’re applying the Tearmender
Spread a thin layer of Val-A-Tearmender to the hide of the white rabbit strip and fur-wrapped lead. When done, pull the tail end of both the White and Chinchilla tight to align them. When you’re please with how they’re aligned, press them together along their entire length.
If the two lengths of rabbit hide end up uneven (or if you want to now adjust the fly’s length) slip the tips of your scissors through the fur and cut the hide only.
This step is a “bit” tricky. To give the fly better motion in the water, you need to taper the section of hide that extends beyond the hook.
Using long, very SHARP scissors, stroke the fur away from you and pinch the hide as shown.Carefully cut the hide tapering from zero to about 1/16” + at the end.
Commercially-tied Double Bunnies i’ve seen usually skip this step. It can be omitted if you wish.
Take 2 long strands of Krystal Flash, and 2 long strands of holographic Flashabou and fold them in the middle. Tie them onto the head of the fly AT that middle mark found when you folded them. Centering them on the sides of the fly, make several tight wraps of thread as shown.
Apply a small dab of Goop to a pc. of scrap cardboard. Using a toothpick or bodkin, scoop up a nice-sized gob of Goop (that sounds nice) and press it onto the spot where the two pcs. of hide are joined together…just behind the thread head. (nice-sized because it will end up holding a large eye onto the pattern!) Make sure the Krystal Flash and Flashabou are out of the way.
Pull the Krystal Flash and Flashabou down/back so that it cuts into the center of your Goop as shown.
Position the large 3D eye onto the center of the Goop and press down, turning it slightly to spread the adhesive.
The finished fly!
Vise by www.peakfishing.com
