Mike Miller's "Rabbit M&M Clouser"

Hook: Turned down eye, size 8-16, 1XL or 2XL
Eyes: Silver or brass bead chain
Lateral Line: 4-8 strands of Krystal Flash or Flashabou tied in on the topside of the fly (hook point side)
Body: One bunch of light colored rabbit for the bottom of the fly (top of the hook shank) and one bunch of darker contrasting colored rabbit for the bottom of the fly (hook point side). These bundles should be equal length.

Tying Directions:

Since the Clouser is a fly that is fished upside down, the top of the "fly" is the hook point side and the bottom is the shank side.

  1. The hook is placed into the vise in a normal fashion (hook point down).
  2. Tie eyes in Clouser style on the top of the hook shank, 1/3 of the way back from the eye.
  3. A bundle of the lighter rabbit fur is cleaned of under fur before tying it in.
  4. The first lighter rabbit bundle is clipped even at the butt ends and tied in at the front of the eyes on the topside of the hook (bottom of the fly). The tips of the fur should extend beyond the hook bend by 1-2 times the length of the hook shank.
  5. The thread is then worked behind the eye and a series of wraps is tied to bind the fur to the shank.
  6. The hook is either turned over in the vise or, if you are using a rotary vise, the hook is rotated so that the hook point is up.
  7. The Krystal Flash or Flashabou is tied in just in front of the eyes. The strands are doubled over the thread as you tie it in with a few strands of the Krystal Flash or Flashabou allowed to extend just past the rabbit tips.
  8. The second darker, contrasting rabbit fur bundle is cleaned of under fur before tying it in.
  9. Tie this bundle in front of the eyes, over the Krystal Flash or Flashabou with the tips of the darker fur aligned with the lighter fur.
  10. Tie off the head and apply a drop of head cement. I use Sally Hansen's Hard-As-Nails because a bluegill's teeth are tough on the fly head.

Mikes Notes:

The color combinations that I use are black/white, lt. gray/white, dk. gray/white, pink/white, chartreuse/white, natural brown/white, black/chartreuse, lt. gray/chartreuse, dk. gray/chartreuse, pink/chartreuse, natural brown/pink, black/light gray, dk. gray/light gray, pink/light gray, chartreuse/ light gray, natural brown/light gray, and all one color of any of the colors.

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