Spawning Bunny Leech

Spawning Bunny Leech by Pete Rosanue

The Bunny Leech has long been a staple in many fly boxes. But how can the movement of rabbit be more enticing? Toss in a trailing egg! Adding triggers to your patterns is an effective way to catch more fish. Having a trailing dessert is also perfect for those short-striking springtime bruisers. Tie it, toss it, net it!  

List of Materials: 

*Thread: White UNI-Thread size 6/0 
*Hooks: Trailer: Size 8 
      Front Hook: Ahrex PR320 size 1/0 
*Weight: .035 and .025 non lead wire 
*Egg Connector: 30 pound Spider Wire 
*Mono Loop: 20 pound monofilament  
*Tail: Hareline Dubbing White Magnum Rabbit Strip 
*Body: Hareline Dubbing Silver Gray Crosscut Rabbit  
*Marabou Accent: Nature’s Spirit Fish Hunter Fl. Bubble Gum Pink UV 
*Head: Spawn Fly Fish Silver Sniper *Super Glue Gel 

*McFly Foam: Fl. Cerise and Baby Blue, Roe Yarn

Step 1: Place the front hook in the vise and begin your thread. Move your thread to just past the hook point toward the bend.  

Step 2: Starting just in front of the hook point wrap approximately 15 wraps of .o35 non lead wire. The critical point here is to leave ¼ inch of free space in front of the hook eye. After you’ve wrapped the wire and smoothed out the ends wrap your thread at 45 degree angles forward and back over the wire two times. Add a very thin layer of head cement.  

Step 3: For the .025 non lead wire begin with 3 wraps behind the .035 wire, 14 wraps in the spaces of the .035 and 3 wraps in front of the .035. This should give you a total of 20 wraps of .025 wire. Again, cover your wire wraps with thread and a thin layer of head cement. 

Step 4: For the egg the choice is yours as to which egg pattern is most successful in your waters. For this application we are using a McFly Foam egg tied on an size 8 stinger style (you can also use Roe Yarn available on our site. Begin by doubling over a 6 inch piece of 30 pound Spider Wire. Run the folded end through the hook eye until you can place both tag ends through the loop you’ve just made. Pull both tag ends until it a knot snugs up against the hook eye. Tie down your tag ends so the egg rests roughly one front hook length behind the front hook. This will let allow the egg to move under the tail of the fly without interfering with the rabbit. Tie the Spider Wire tag ends forward to where the .035 wire ends. At this point take a couple wraps of thread in front of the tag ends and fold the tag ends back toward the hook bend. Securely tie down and trim the ends.  

Step 5: Tie in a piece of 20 pound monofilament on the side of the hook in line with the hook eye. Tie back to your previous thread wraps. At this point make a small loop by leaving some extra mono before tying the other side down on the opposite side of the hook, again in line with the hook eye. The size of the loop should be slightly larger than a strip of magnum rabbit, but not so large that it can slip over the hook bend. Once you’ve cut both sides of the mono loop and wrapped securely with thread apply another thin layer of head cement. The purpose of the mono loop is to keep the trailing egg away from the rabbit tail and to keep the tail away from our front hook point. 

Step 6: Prepare a piece of magnum rabbit strip slightly longer than the front hook. Trim about ¼ inch of fur from the strip where you will tie it in. After trimming tie down so the beginning of the remaining fur lines up with where your previous thread wraps end. This will ensure a clean looking fly. 

Step 7: Tie in 5 strands of silver Krystal Flash so the ends reach just past the end of the tail. Move your thread 2 wraps in front of the flash, pull the remaining flash back over itself and tie down back to your tie in spot. Trim the 10 strands unevenly so some are past the tail and some are a bit shorter.  

Step 8: Clean out the loose hairs on a strip of silver gray crosscut rabbit. Remove enough hair for a clean tie in making sure the fur on the crosscut strip will begin where the fur from your tail section ends. The hair on the crosscut strip should be facing toward the back and opposite side of your hook. Tie in with the leather facing upward so that as you wrap the rabbit the leather will be facing the hook and the fur will be flowing toward the hook bend. 

Step 9: Wrap your crosscut strip to the hook eye and tie off cleanly. Comb out your rabbit to remove any loose hairs and to undo any trapped fibers. 

Step 10: Prepare a strung marabou feather by coaxing the fibers downward toward the base of the quill. Slightly wetted fingers will help immensely. Looking at the convex, or top side of the feather, carefully remove the fibers from the left side of the quill by gently pulling them downward toward the base of the feather. Trim some fibers from the top of the right side of the feather for a nice spot to tie in. Removing half the fibers will make the quill slightly easier to wrap while also allowing the body color to show through. Tie in your feather so the beginning fibers are butted up against the crosscut rabbit. 

Step 11: Make 3-4 wraps of the feather making sure to not trap any of the fibers as you wrap. Tie off the quill and trim away the excess feather. Make a clean thread head and whip finish 2 times. At this point I like to color the thread to match the fly. Add a bit of head cement and allow to dry. 

Step 12: After your head cement has dried apply a small amount of Super Glue Gel at the base where the feather fibers meet the thread head. Carefully position your Spawn Sniper head and slip it over the hook eye until it seats firmly against your fly. Proceed to your nearest fishing hole and commence fish catching. Repeat as needed.