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Northern Michigan Fly Fishing
Fly Fishing for Steelhead
smallmouth bass on the fly

Rabbit Wiggle Nymph

by Ed McCoy

The Rabbit Wiggle Nymph is a nymph that should be in your fly box especially starting in January and continuing through the first part of April.  Movement is a great trigger for both Steelhead and Trout.  You can fish this pattern dead drift below and Indicator, or swing this fly in riffles or pocket water.

Other color combinations that do well are tan, white, ginger, and olive.

rabbit wiggle nymph

Rabbit Wiggle Nymph

  • TMC 105 Size #8-10
  • Thread to Match
  • Black Micro Rabbit Strip
  • Red Eyes (how to below)
  • Peacock Hearl Wing Case
  • Black American Hen Cape
  • Ice Dub Black Peacock
rabbit wiggle nymph

Insert your hook into the vise and attach your thread.  Now tie in your first material a long strip of micro rabbit, or you can substitute it with pine squirrel.  I like to use the whole strip, to maximize the number of nymphs I can tie.  Cutting the rabbit last to judge the tail length properly.

rabbit wiggle nymph

Now insert your Red Eyes to the front part of the hook.  Giving you a point of reference as you tie the rest of your Rabbit Wiggle Nymph

rabbit wiggle nymph

Latch in a generous amount of Peacock Herl, this will be your wing case.  Honestly more is better

rabbit wiggle nymph

Trim the excess Peacock Herl

rabbit wiggle nymph

Now tie in your American Hen Cape Hackle. Dub your thorax with the ice dub through the eyes and leave your thread at the eye of the hook.

rabbit wiggle nymph

Wrapping the American Hen Hackle forward, making sure to get a little of the webby soft part of the feather near the eyes.

rabbit wiggle nymph

Pull your Peacock wing case forward

rabbit wiggle nymph

Trim the Peacock Herl and save this part for your next nymph that your going to tie.

Moisten the hair on the rabbit strip tail and get ready to trim.  You should be trimming for length and cutting the hair at an angle to give it a gill like appearance providing extra movement in the fly pattern.

rabbit wiggle nymph

Finished Rabbit Strip Wiggle Nymph

How to Make Red Eyes

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