Favorite bass flies?

Northern

Seeking SMB
Forum Supporter
For numbers, I love the Stealth Bomber. Easy to tie, easy to cast, and seems to be irresistible to a variety of species. Have even had trout nab it while targeting bass. Other colors work, also.
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tkww

Steelhead
how are the bunny strip ones casting? they look great.
Not great, honestly. Mostly a function of weight and my insistence on a 6 wt. I do plan on tying some lighter versions up.

I'd been tying them with a mono loop to help with fouling--ok but not great. I've since seen the technique of a mono wedge/loop pierced into strip and I'm eager to try that. I just haven't tied any up in a couple of years. Also the Jawbreakers worked surprisingly well, and are quicker to tie, so.... But I do love the look of a bunny strip in water.
 

mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
Not great, honestly. Mostly a function of weight and my insistence on a 6 wt. I do plan on tying some lighter versions up.

I'd been tying them with a mono loop to help with fouling--ok but not great. I've since seen the technique of a mono wedge/loop pierced into strip and I'm eager to try that. I just haven't tied any up in a couple of years. Also the Jawbreakers worked surprisingly well, and are quicker to tie, so.... But I do love the look of a bunny strip in water.
oh shit, yeah. Those look like a nightmare on a 6wt! Bunny strips look great in water but boy do those hides soak it up.
If you threw them on a 7 or even 8 wt, it might be more enjoyable. Generally speaking, I only use my 6wt for bass on the John Day where the fish are small and so are the flies.
 

Snopro

Steelhead
Forum Supporter
I'd been tying them with a mono loop to help with fouling--ok but not great. I've since seen the technique of a mono wedge/loop pierced into strip and I'm eager to try that.
I've had success on my coho twitching jigs by coating some of the hide side on the bunny strip with uv resin. It only take about 1/2" as the bunny leaves the hook to make a huge difference in fouling rate.

Quicker than fiddling with mono.
 

tkww

Steelhead
I've had success on my coho twitching jigs by coating some of the hide side on the bunny strip with uv resin. It only take about 1/2" as the bunny leaves the hook to make a huge difference in fouling rate.

Quicker than fiddling with mono.
Thanks for the suggestion. I've though about trying that but haven't gotten around to it yet. I'll give it a shot. The mono thing does seem kinda fiddly.
 

Stonedfish

Known Grizzler-hater of triploids, humpies & ND
Forum Supporter
Not great, honestly. Mostly a function of weight and my insistence on a 6 wt. I do plan on tying some lighter versions up.

I'd been tying them with a mono loop to help with fouling--ok but not great. I've since seen the technique of a mono wedge/loop pierced into strip and I'm eager to try that. I just haven't tied any up in a couple of years. Also the Jawbreakers worked surprisingly well, and are quicker to tie, so.... But I do love the look of a bunny strip in water.

Are you putting the mono loop under the bunny to hold it up or through it?
SF
 

tkww

Steelhead
Are you putting the mono loop under the bunny to hold it up or through it?
SF
I had been doing under (meh), as I hadn't learned the through-it method yet. My plan was to try the through-it method next time I tied some up--and I probably still will--but I think I'll try the resin as well.
 

Stonedfish

Known Grizzler-hater of triploids, humpies & ND
Forum Supporter
I had been doing under (meh), as I hadn't learned the through-it method yet. My plan was to try the through-it method next time I tied some up--and I probably still will--but I think I'll try the resin as well.

The through works well in my opinion. Much better then the loop underneath.
I've posted this before if you haven't seen it. If you have, hopefully it will help others.
SF

 

tkww

Steelhead
The through works well in my opinion. Much better then the loop underneath.
I've posted this before if you haven't seen it. If you have, hopefully it will help others.
SF


Yes, that's the "through it" method I was referring to. Someone shared it with me a couple years ago, but between my fly stockpile, lack of targeting bass in the last couple years, and my diversion into Jawbreakers, I haven't tied any jigs up in a while. As soon as I saw Cohen's method I knew there's no way that couldn't be a lot better than the loop underneath.
 

CanoeGuy

Steelhead
try replacing the bunny with wig hair - casts sooo much better and fouls less too. I have a box full of bunny flies similar to this that never get used anymore. This thing is about 5" long and casts easily on a 6wt.
 

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