The Pike Bunny

The Pike Bunny tied and photographed by Paul Evans.

The materials I used:
Hook:Fulling mill world class pike hook (32461) SIZE 3/0
Thread: 6/0 Fire Orange
Tail and body: Natural rabbit zonker
Overwing: Holographic silver Flashabou
Head: Red straggle fritz
Eyes: 7mm Doll Eyes:

 

 

Start the thread off then wind down the shank in open turns until you reach a point roughly half way between the hooks point and barb, Judge how ever long a tail you require, then part the rabbit fur on the skin, bind the strip down hard in this parting. (Here I have left a tail 3 inches in length using natural rabbit zonker strip of about 5mm wide here but any would do):

 

Take the thread back along the shank in open turns and make a half hitch just behind the hook eye, leaving the thread hanging out of the way start winding the rabbit strip around the shank in touching turns (but not overlapping), make sure that you wind away from you so that when you tie it off at the head the thread wraps serve only to tighten the zonker wraps and not undo it:

 

On each touching turn of rabbit strip, stroke the fibres back along the body and pin them against the shank, whilst making the next turn:

 

 

 

 

 

Keep making the touching turns all the way along the shank, remembering to leave just a little space behind the eye tie the rabbit strip off with a few tight turns of thread then remove the excess

 

 

 

 

Stroke the rabbit fur back along the body once more and wrap over it moving back to wards the tail of the fly, this creates a 'fat' head which gives you something to glue the eyes to later:

 

 

 

 

 

Tie in the red straggle fritz

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Make 4 or 5 touching turns of straggle fritz back to wards the eye, tie off and remove the surplus

 

 

 

 

 

Tie in 4 strips of silver holo flashabou at the head and trim it level with the tip of the tail then make a few half hitches or whip finish behind the eye and cut off the thread

 

 

 

 

 

With the body completed only the eyes are needed to finish the fly, This can be done simply by temporarily gluing them to the side of the head with super glue, then filling the gap between the eyes with epoxy.The Finished Fly. Now that you have finished your fly, now is the best time to say that I have never fished for pike on the fly, so I have no idea if the fly will work , but it looks like it might to me. Obviously the pattern can be altered any way you like, the possibilities are endless but the same basic method is always used hope the step by step has been useful, happy tying
Paul