Rubber legged flies have always been very popular in Patagonia. Bitch Creek and Rubber Legs patterns were used a lot during the 70´s as well as the Leoni´s Barbarous and Montana flies with antennae and rubber tails.During those days there were very few rubber legged patterns included in American f View more...Rubber legged flies have always been very popular in Patagonia. Bitch Creek and Rubber Legs patterns were used a lot during the 70´s as well as the Leoni´s Barbarous and Montana flies with antennae and rubber tails.During those days there were very few rubber legged patterns included in American fly catalogues, which were not easy to get either. So, trying to buy rubber legs in fishing shops was a hard task, then one would just get the rubber straps from socks, underwear or cutting latex from something else.The designs during those days were really simple and not much crafted, most of them made by combining chenille with the legs; except for the Bitch Creek that combined knitted chenille in its abdomen and a bigger thorax with a palmered feather over it.Nowadays, the variety of diameters (thick, medium, slim, extra slim) and shapes (the traditional squared one, rounded or rectangular) and colors (plain, combined, transparent, or even with some glitter) have allowed rubber legged fly designs to evolve to the point that these legs are being used for tiny nymphs and dry flies as well.Three years ago I experimented with tying a fly combining looped rabbit hair and rubber legs. The result of this was an attractive fly that I called Cousin Itt (due to its resemblance to the Addams Family character). A friend of mine and I tried this fly when fishing the Patagonian Manso River, downstream from Hess Lake until Los Alerces cascade. We got better results with this fly other than with the ones we always used, maybe because the rabbit hair and rubber combination and moves had a good effect on trout. It´s also very effective if tied in olive, brown or combining two colors, such as black and red, or olive and orange.
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List of materials
MATERIALSThread: 3/0 black (as resistant as possible).Weighing: lead wire.Hook: Mustad 9671 or 9672 (or similar), sizes #2 to #8.Legs: White rubber. With rounded or squared tips.Body: black rabbit hair crosscut. Loop tied afterwards.
Steps
Step 1
Wrap some lead wire along ¾ of the hook shank, next to the eye.
Step 2
Tie a pair of rubber legs along the hook shank. Antennae and tail should have the exact same length.
Step 3
Loop the thread next to the base of the tails.
Step 4
Tie a pair of legs at the middle of the hook shank.
Step 5
Tie a second pair of legs at the first ¼ section of the hook shank and take the thread forward until it reaches the hook eye.
Step 6
Grab the rabbit hair using a Marc Petitjean tool. These should be short next to the hook and longer as possible at the other end.
Step 7
Firmly set the hair between the two looped threads and then evenly cut the hairs, leaving the skin aside.
Step 8
Wrap the loop with many turns so that the rabbit hair is firmly set between the two threads.
Step 9
Wrap the rabbit hair along the hook shank until it reaches the eye. Tie the final knot and cement.
