"The Rabbit Candy"
Bob Popovics

Rabbit fur/Rabbit strip is unmatched as a seductive fly tying material. It tantalizes predators as it moves beneath the surface fooling many a wise fish , I'm sure. It gives the flytyer quite an edge on creating killer flies. The flyfisherman gets a fly that seems to give a sense of confidence when searching for success. Whether you use strips or fur, rabbit is a prime material for effective fly patterns.

Understanding the characteristics of rabbit is very important to the fly designer. Rabbit has a couple of very desireable attributes such as great movement, a natural taper and an easy to achieve length. Rabbit also has it's downside : 1) Heavy to cast if kept too long, 2) Strong tendecy to fouling. If the flytyer doesn't make allowances for these , the fly can end up a disaster!

========The GOOD Side=======
Rabbit, when used in strips , has a beautiful and natural taper. This taper lends itself nicely to imitations of eels, sand eels, and many small baits. For the salt water flyrodder, that is a large percentage of his baits. If you use rabbit fur [ without hide ], it is great for small imitations such as shrimp or crabs, another often imitated bait source.

More importantly, I find the incredible lifelike movement to be most desired. With its soft and flexible hide, the rabbit strip moves enticeingly when retrieved. Closer observation reveals that the individual fibers continuously move in the water, giving the illusion of something alive ! The success of rabbit flies, primarily, is associated with the fiber movement. Whether your retrieve is fast or slow, the fibers are extremely animated. If searching for a good fly for" dead drift " situations, Rabbit flies are my first choice.
Action without manipulation ! Tough to beat.
Another good trait of rabbit is its durability. After many casts and fish filled days, rabbit flies hold up with the best of them.

=======The BAD Side=======
Rabbit is a natural fur that does not shed water easily once wet, making the fly heavy to cast. To counter this problem, the tyer is forced to make flies that are short to moderate in length. If long rabbit strips are used, rod size will have to be pre determined.

Wing fouling is of utmost importance. This problem, if left unchallenged ,will frustrate the angler like nothing else.. Because the hyde is so limp, and stays wet and heavy, it's very difficult to achieve a foul proof rabbit fly. Two methods that I have used to some success are the mono loop and the mono spike.
The mono loop is simply a short length of mono tied at the hook bend,on the side and brought around to the other side creating a loop of about 3/8's of an inch past the hook. This cuts down on fouling but not as much as I would like.
My favorite way is the mono spike. Although requiring a bit more work, it gets better results. It involves pokeing a hole through the hyde at a measured distance from the hook bend. This distance is usually about 3/8" behind hook bend. The mono spike system provides rigidity in the hyde thus keeping wrap around to a minimum.

In both methods , however, short rabbit strip lengths of three inches or less stay under control best. Long ones are more likely to still foul. Tying a collar of bucktail along the shank will add some help at this time. No matter which system you employ, be sure to check the fly often while fishing.
Rabbit flies are some of todays top fish catchers........Try them and you'll believe !
END, >-----<o> POP-FLEYES

Material List/ Rabbit Candy
HOOK: Short shank, 800s tiemco,Trey Combs hook
THREAD: Mono
40 lb. mono straights, rabbit strip, polar flash, prism eyes, 5 minute epoxy