What it is
Hareline Crosscut Rabbit Strips are crosscut shimmer rabbit fur strips made from rabbit hide with fur tips dyed in a metallic tone. Because the fur is soft and the strip is cut to be wrapped, it pulses and breathes in the water and the tips give off a subtle baitfish-like glow.
What to tie with it
This is a wrap-on material, so you use it for palmered bodies on streamers and leech patterns, and it also shows up as palmered bodies on mouse patterns. You can also use it for claws on crab and crayfish patterns by tying in short sections and letting the fur move on the pause.
Flies and the fish they're for
Crosscut rabbit is a staple for Double Bunny-style streamers and other rabbit-strip baitfish profiles that get swung or stripped for trout in rivers and stillwaters, and for bass in ponds, lakes, and rivers. In bigger sizes it’s also a common choice for pike streamers where that breathing action sells the fly on slow strips and pauses. When it’s built into crab and crayfish patterns as claws, it’s fishing for species that key on those bottom foods, like bass in freshwater and saltwater flats species when crab patterns are on the menu.
How it compares
Compared to Hareline Shimmer Rabbit Fur Strips (straight cut), the crosscut version is meant to be wrapped around the hook for bodies; the straight cut version is the one you reach for when you want long, clean tails and straight-strip bodies. Otherwise they’re identical.
