Flymph Challenge - Rabbits Foot Dubbing

[letumgo]

After reading William's comment about the properties of Alpaca, I remembered hearing similar things about the fur of rabbit feet. Has anyone tried rabbit foot fur to create a flymph pattern? If not, consider this a challenge. Please try to come up with a flymph using the fur from a rabbits foot.

It seems like some of Fran Betters patterns are just begging to be converted to flymphs. Let's see what a "Usual Flymph" looks like.

Sure sounds fishy to me...in a very good way...

[William Anderson]

This is a great idea. While fooling with the clear acrylic bags a few nights ago to see in great detail the different fur blends and how they would float and then how they would shimmer with a bubble on them or around them. I was amazed at the qualities of the snowshoe rabbit on a couple of Usuals I had tied up. First, they would not have dipped with insistence, but what struck me was there was a hydrofuge surrounding the body in a way that obscured the fly when viewed from below. It could have rested on that mercury bubble all day and must make quite an impression on something looking up at it from the streambed. The orange underbody did show after quite some time, especially after being forced under, and I've always thought that translucency was the magic of that pattern, but there really must be something to the presentation created in the surface.

I like it. I can't wait to give this a try. I probably have a number of bodies pre-spun around here somewhere. I'll make some fresh ones and see what I can come up with. It's going to be great to see everyone's trials. Thanks for suggesting this.

w

[tie2fish]

Oh yeah! I've got some snowshoe hare that I dyed specifically for Hendricksons and now that you mention it, Ray, I'll bet it will make a dandy flymph.

[letumgo]

Oh that sounds great Bill! Cant wait to see what you come up with. I have a small rabbit foot from Tim, which should work nicely for this.

[zen leecher]

I found an oddball kinda flymph pattern that uses snowshoe rabbit foot fur as an emerging fly. It's a calibaetis emerger for a fly found out here in local lakes. The funny part of the fly is it has a twisted wire "tail" that makes the hook ride upright on the surface. It's hackled and "winged" in a Quigley cripple style with a hare's ear dubbed body behind the hackle with the twisted wire tail behind.

[Mataura mayfly]

Hare/Rabbit foot = good!
I use it a lot as every one I shoot tends to have four feet.....
The fur on the underside is hydrophobic- ie: waterproof- unlike the rest of the animals covering. For the rest of the pelt the guard hairs will shed water- bit like water resistant, but a good rain drenching will see them wet to the skin and is a major cause of natural death over the Winters.
But as their feet are in contact directly with the ground most of the time- things are a little different here. The underfoot hair is crimped, springy and hydrophobic, longest tends to be between the toes and this is the section they like for emerger posts and the like.
It should prove a nonconforming hard to manage dubbing........ be interesting to see what comes to play.

[DUBBN]

I rarely fish dry's so, I have never owned or kept a rabbits/hares/snowshoe foot.

[novabass]

Terrific idea Ray!
I've already started spinning on my Clark block.

[novabass]

Well, here is my answer to Ray's challenge. I hope you guys like it.

Mustad 94842 size 14
Tail: white hen
Body: Snowshoe rabbit wrapped with orange Pearsall's silk on a Clark Block
Hackle: white hen

[tie2fish]

A lovely sulfur flymph, Paul. Commercially packaged snowshoe rabbit feet come in a wide variety of colors; is the stuff you used called "Natural" or "Cream"?