The Bunny Midge is a snowshoe rabbit–winged midge pattern tied at very small sizes that remains buoyant and visible on the water. Clark (Cheech) Pierce’s Fly Fish Food video tutorial demonstrates a version tied on a size 26 hook.
Construction begins by wrapping a thread base along the hook shank using 20-denier nano silk, which keeps bulk to a minimum. A single strand of body quill is tied in, left long, then wrapped down the shank and back up toward the front to build a small thorax bump. The tail is trimmed to roughly the length of the body. For the wing, a small clump of fibers is taken from the center section of a snowshoe rabbit foot — not the stiffer fibers near the toes — and the underfluff is removed. The clump is split in half and the tips are reversed so they point in opposing directions, then sandwiched and tied in parallel to the hook shank with a pinch wrap of two or three turns. The front section is pulled forward and the thread is crossed over to set the wing perpendicular to the shank, then figure-eighted to position it. The wings are propped upright with a finger and thread is wrapped around their base to set them at roughly a 45-degree angle. The wings are pulled back, a whip finish is tied behind the eye, and the wing is trimmed to length across the top — and optionally trimmed front and back to give the appearance of separated wings. A drop of super glue or head cement is applied to the underside of the thread wraps to lock everything in, since GSP thread is slick and can unravel.
The reversed-tip wing technique produces a fuller, better-seated wing clump than a single bundle, and the snowshoe rabbit fibers keep the fly floating well at miniature scale. The thin nano silk thread allows for a clean, low-bulk body even on a size 26 hook.
Tying materials
Hook: Fulling Mill 5145 Tactical Midge Black Nickel Hook – Barbless – 26
Hook (Alternate): Gamakatsu C12-BM Barbless Midge Hook – 26
Thread: Semperfli Nano Silk 20D 24/0 – Black
Thread (Alternate): SemperFli Nano Silk Ultra Fine 30D 18/0 – Black
Tail: Veevus Body Quill – Tan – 369
Tail (Alternate): Veevus Body Quill – Brown – 40
Wing: Snowshoe Rabbits Feet – Light Dun
Wing (Alternate): Nature’s Spirit Snowshoe Rabbit Feet – Light Gray Dun
