Bunny Leech

Materials

to Order Material, click the link

Hook TMC 300 #6-8
Thread Danville Black 6/0
Head Black Nickel Conehead
Underbody Red Ice Dubbing
Body/Tail 1/8 Chinchilla Rabbit Strip
Flash Strands of Pearl Flashabou
Collar 1/8 Chinchilla Rabbit Crosscut Strip
Ribbing Small Copper Wire
Leech
Leech

Bunny Leech

Rabbit Zonker strips make an excellent material to imitate leeches. The material takes a little time to get itself waterlogged but once it is fully saturated, it performs with the convincing undulating pattern of a leech. Black, Brown and Olive are the most common colors used. A few strands of Krystal flash or Flashabou are often incorporated into the pattern, either at the tail or off the head position. There are basically three methods used to tie this pattern.

Method One

Dan Byford

Dan Byford

The method I show on the Chinchilla Bunny Leech utilizes one zonker strip for the tail and the body. An underbody of Ice Dubbing is applied to the hook shank and the body portion of the zonker strip is lashed to the shank. This is a method popularized by Dan Byford in 1975. Dan was from Bakersfield, CA and was deeply involved in the fly fishing industry throughout his career. Dan passed away in September of 2011 in Chaing Mai, Thailand. I also use this method on the Purple and Black Bunny Leech.

Method Two

The second method is to secure a zonker strip for the tail and apply rabbit hair within a dubbing loop for the body. This method is shown on the Tightline video below. It can be a preferred method for tying onto smaller hooks.

Method Three

The third method is to secure a 1/8″ crosscut rabbit strip at the base of the tail and wrap the entire strip forward. This method was used by Charlie Brooks on his Assam Dragon pattern in 1970 using seal fur and I use this method on the Olive Bunny Leech. All three methods will use a 1/8″ crosscut strip as a collar at the head.

For our Sierran lakes, I try to keep the overall size down by using size 6-8 streamer hooks and a minimal tail length as the weight of the saturated fur can be substantial. The Bunny Leech is a favorite for Steelhead and Salmon yet in larger sizes of 2-4 utilizing 9-10 wt. rods. Many of those patterns will also use an Egg Head wrap of chenille.

Variations

BH Purple Bunny Leech w/Purple Hackle
BH Purple Bunny Leech w/Purple Hackle

BH Purple Bunny Leech w/Purple Hackle

Hook TMC 300 #2-6
Thread Danville Black 6/0
Head Black Nickel Conehead
Underbody Purple Ice Dubbing
Body/Tail 1/8 Purple Rabbit Strip
Flash Strands of Pearl Flashabou
Collar 1/8 Purple Cross-cut Rabbit Strip
Ribbing Small Copper Wire
Olive Bunny Leech
Olive Bunny Leech

Olive Bunny Leech

Hook TMC 300 #4-6
Thread Danville Black 6/0
Head Black Nickel Conehead
Underbody Olive Ice Dubbing
Body/Tail 1/8 Olive Rabbit Strip
Flash Strands of Pearl Flashabou
Collar 1/8 Olive Cross-cut Rabbit Strip, crosscut
Ribbing Small Copper Wire
Black Bunny Leech w/Rabbit Fur Collar
Black Bunny Leech w/Rabbit Fur Collar

Black Bunny Leech w/Rabbit Fur Collar

Hook TMC 300 #4-8
Thread Danville Black 6/0
Head Black Nickel Conehead
Underbody Black Ice Dubbing
Body/Tail 1/8 Black Rabbit Strip
Flash Strands of Pearl Flashabou
Collar 1/8 Black Rabbit Strip, crosscut
Ribbing Small Copper Wire