Hareline Crosscut Shimmer Rabbit Strips

What it is

Hareline Crosscut Shimmer Rabbit Strips are rabbit fur strips cut crosswise so you can wrap them around the hook shank. The fur has shimmer-dyed tips that throw a subtle sheen and glow, and because it’s rabbit it stays soft and breathes in the water. When you move the fly or pause it, the strip collapses and pulses for a very lifelike motion.

What to tie with it

Use it for palmering bodies on leeches and streamers: tie the hide in at the rear and wrap forward like chenille, sweeping the fibers back as you go. It’s also a go-to for palmering bulky mouse bodies, and you can build claws on crab and crayfish patterns by tying in shorter sections where you want that waving “pincher” movement. For streamer tails, you’ll usually switch to straight-cut strips rather than crosscut.

Flies and the fish they're for

These strips are right at home in Double Bunny-style streamers, the kind of rabbit-on-top-of-rabbit flies fished for trout on rivers and lakes, and for bass and pike anywhere you’re throwing bigger meat. Crosscut rabbit also shows up alongside Zonker (straight-cut) strips in the same fly, with crosscut doing the wrapped body and Zonker handling the tail, a classic build for baitfish and leech profiles. In saltwater-style crab and crabby crawfish patterns, rabbit claws are a common way to add movement for species that key on crustaceans like redfish on the flats and smallmouth on rivers.

How it compares

Compared with Hareline Shimmer Rabbit Fur Strips (straight cut), this crosscut version is made to wrap and palmer cleanly for bodies, while the straight cut version is the better choice for tails and longer wing-style strips. Both have the same shimmer-tipped look.