BUNNY BUGGERS (NEED HELP!!!!!)

[JUNGLEJIM1]

After finishing up my swap jigs,today I decided to try my hand with a few bunny buggers. I don't copy other jigs made by others but I need to.What is the best way to tie in the bunny tails,skin up,down,up and down,side by side????? I tried them all today. They do want to roll over on me when tying in the tails.I'm really cranking on them to get them tight. Do you use glue?? Me and super glue don't get along. These are a few of what I tied up today. Suggestions and/or pictures of how you do them would be appreciated.

 

[ScottV]

Those look good JJ1. I always put a little clear polish on my thread wrap, then cut a piece of zonker about an inch long and tie it leather down. I usually tie something else first to hide the leather strip and to keep the strip from wrapping around the hook when fishing. On my my swap jig I tied 2 mallard flank feathers with the curves facing each other to flatten them out on the hook first. Then I tied the zonker on top of them. I guess this is my preview. LOL

 

[AtticaFish]

JJ - Well... i tie them in every way you mentioned.

Really like the gray one you posted, looks like a killer! i do alot with a dark strip on the top and lighter one on the bottom as you did. If doing a single strip, i always put it hide side to the bottom, can't say why i do it that way though. for a fatter tail, i use 3 strips. i tie the first in on the bottom with the hide facing UP, then one on each side facing in. this way, you don't see much of the hide if you have some darker fur that has lighter colored hide.

To keep them from slipping and rolling around the shank can be tricky, a thick, tight wrapped thread base helps. i also use a base of poly yarn sometimes. easiest way to do them is to use a jig head that has a collar and mash down the collar barb. you can lay the skin flat to it and wrap hard with out it slipping too much. i have never glued them down to the shank myself, only use that on the finish knot. once you get them set in place correctly, you can really wrap down hard and they will not budge.

I have some pics of stuf i've done before - rabbit_jigs - feel free to copy away... i've tried to copy more than one of your designs in the past!

 

[Ron Don]

Jungle they look great! I tie them both ways. For crappie I mostly use double strips top and bottom. Or with one strip I turn the hide up (against the shank) and use a lil 'bou to "hide" the hide.

 

[jiggerjohn]

JJ1, From tying these bunny jigs for close to 40 years now, I THINK they show best action tied with hide up on back of the jig as in the second pic you posted. These are out of the way of the hook point&bend and seem to flow easier on either a slow steady retreive or hop. One trick I used is to carve my short strips from a THINNER rabbit HIDE,which really gets em to flapping, and/or to cut the width down from the standard 1/8" (if I use zonker strips, a sharp pair of scissors will halve them neatly!). On the "double bunny" (back to back strips doubled) the originator of the "double bunny" fly (only fly that has been BANNED from a fly fishing competition, after it set records and won the famed Jackson Hole tourney 2 years in a row!), the originator, Scott Sanchez, uses "tear mender" glue to secure his double strips -this stuff is terrific and allows the action to go unhampered.

 

[papaperch]

I second the use of tear mender its great stuff, As John points out it does not affect the action at all. Some of the techniques I use is to trim a 1/4 " of hair and point the tie in. On some bunny jigs I don't have a tail of hide. What I do like in my swap jigs is to tie in front and back letting the hide face itself.Each folded strip is pushed into a U-shape so that the fur extends beyond the hook. Use a drop of tear mender to glue hide to itself. I like this technique when using two pieces of hide. The fur itself provides the needed action.

Another thing that seems to work well is monofilament tying thread. It takes color well and really anchors the bunny to the hook. A drop of nail polish can be added to starter tie in if you deem necessary.

I also use the micro strips when tying smaller jigs. Usually anything below 1/16 oz gets the skinnier strips.

Have not been tying bunny as long as jiggerjohn but it is rapidly becoming my favorite material. Will post pix of my swap jig if I get my camera fixed today under the swap post.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Thanks everyone,so much information I'll have to read all the posts several times to absorb it through my thick skull. Defintely will check out the Double Bunny. If it's been banned in competition it's worth the effort. Will be thinning and cutting on some strips.

 

[Pup]

I'm becoming interested in using rabbit. Though, only for bass. Some very nicely-tied jigs in this thread.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Double Bunny looks cool, will try a few soon using my pillheads with the 3-D eyes.Just need to reverse the strips. Where can I find some tear mender glue ? Probably sub chenille for the braid.

 

[jiggerjohn]

JJ1, Try Feather-craft (www.feather-craft.com) for the tear mender glue ; a bottle will last a LONG time! They also have a very inexpensive tying pattern sheet for the double bunny fly, as originally conceived.

 

[JUNGLEJIM1]

Thanks jiggerjohn. I tied several last night and since feather craft is a 15 minute ride from me I'll be there when they open today. I'll be getting more zonker strips as well.