This fly looks great on a jerk-strip retrieve, it dives down deep and quickly on a pause and kicks wildly on a snappy retrieve. Fish will chase this fly all the way to the boat and take it a rod length away from them to you. With the articulation and dumbbell eyes combo, you can also fish this in a vertical jig type of retrieve and watch trout T-bone this fly while it's dropping on the pause.
What I have started doing, when tying this fly, in order to achieve a myriad of different color combinations is using Ice Dub or Laser Dub for the head. This material helps build a bulky head, but more importantly, allows the tyer to mix and blend colors of different dubbings to achieve a more unique color of head to the fly.
This fly is very fun to tie and even more entertaining to fish. It swims and kicks in a sporadic way and elicits violent strikes from trout. Tie some up and try ‘em out!
Step 1: With the Trout Predator Hook #1 in vise, start thread halfway up the shank and take wraps backward just up to the start of the bend of the hook.
Step 2: Measure out a section of rabbit strip to have one hook length of material off the back of the hook for your tail, then also making sure you measure out enough material available to cover the rest of the shank toward the eye of the hook.
Tie in the rabbit strip at the point you left your thread at right before the bend of the hook. Preen the hair of the rabbit strip away from your tie-in point to make this a clean and easy securing wrap.
Step 3: Tie in the UV Polar Chenille in tight with the rabbit strip. Make touching wraps up the hook with the UV Polar Chenille and tie off with just enough room to tie in legs.
Step 4: Select two strands of Rubber Legs and tie in one strand at the halfway point of the rubber leg, preen the forward-facing half of the strand back toward the rear facing half and secure with 3 or 4 wraps. Repeat this step with the second strand on the other side of the fly.
Step 5: Bring the lose end of the rabbit strip forward over top the shank and secure the strip to just behind the hook eye.
Step 6: Make two complete four or five turn whip finishes and snip your thread. Secure with adhesive.
Step 7: Secure a Trout Predator Hook #1/0 into the vise and lay down a thread base across the shank. Then lay your articulation wire across the shank and secure by taking wraps backward.
Step 8: Thread two 3-D articulation beads onto the wire.
Step 9: Thread the completed back hook onto the wire. Make sure the hook point is facing upward. Then secure the other end of the articulation wire to the shank of the hook.
Step 10: Measure out a rabbit strip in the same way you did for Step 2. Make sure the fur from this rabbit strip extends back to the fur on the previous hook. Pierce the leather side of the rabbit strip on the point of the hook, remove the hook from the vise jaws to slide the rabbit strip up past the barb, and past the bend of the hook. Re-secure the hook in the vise jaws.
Step 11: Tie in UV Polar Chenille right up against the rabbit strip identical to Step 4.
Step 12: Tie in a pair of medium dumbbell eyes on the top of the hook shank about one hook eye length back from the hook eye.
Step 13: Make touching wraps of your UV Polar Chenille up to the dumbbell eyes.
Step 14: Tie in 1 to 2 strands of rubber legs on each side of the hook shank up against the dumbbell eyes, similar to Step 6.
Step 15: Lay the loose end of the rabbit strip across the hook shank and tie in at right behind the dumbbell eyes.
Step 16: To create the head, take healthy clumps of Ice Dub and tie in the clumps around the entire hook shank behind the dumbbell eyes. You should ideally end up with four even clumps around.
Step 17: Using the same Ice Dub, create a long clump of dubbing and tie in at the mid-point of the dubbing clump in front of the dumbbell eyes. This will leave one long strand of dubbing hanging out of the front of your fly. Rotate your vise and tie in one addition clump of dub to the bottom of the hook in front of the dumbbell eyes. Rotate your vise back and fold back the forward-facing strand of dub back so it lays across the rest of the dub head and secure with tight wraps right behind the hook eye.
Step 18: Make two complete four or five turn whip finishes, cut and adhere the finish.
