Zebra Barred Articulated Mouse
by @dekasso
Articulated Mouse · Streamer
Black and white bars crossing dark water
An articulated mouse streamer on size 2 hooks, barred black and white, for big trout and bass on night water.
A two-hook articulated mouse barred in black and white from tail to nose. Grizzly marabou, black chenille ribbed in white floss, barred rubber legs and a spun deer hair head with plastic eyes.
- Pattern
- Articulated Mouse
- Imitates
- Mouse or vole
- Hook
- size 2
- Tippet
- 1Xrule of three
- Two size 2 hooks, wire hinge
- Grizzly marabou tail breathes when paused
- Spun deer hair head pushes water
- Barred rubber legs off the front
- Bold black and white barring
On the water
Every part carries bars. The grizzly marabou tail flares wide, the black chenille wears thin white bands, and a round deer hair head stares out with pale plastic eyes. Barred rubber legs trail off the front like whiskers.
Fish it after dark along slow banks and pool tails. Cast tight to the edge, let it settle, then swim it back with a slow, steady pull so the hinge lets the rear wag. Stop it often near cover.
Spun deer hair makes the head. Pack it hard in small bunches and trim it round and full, because that dense head is what pushes water and keeps the front riding high.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 1Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, with fluorocarbon tippet to get it down
- Use a short, stout leader of 0X to 2X so the hinge swings freely and the fly turns over.
- Keep the rod tip low and strip slow with long pauses; the head holds it near the surface.
- On sinking lines, a short pull and stop makes the rear section kick down and back.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Mouse or vole
- Target
- Trout, Bass
- Water type
- Slow pools, undercut banks and tailouts after dark
- Also fishes
- Swung through dusk riffles or stripped along weed edges in warm ponds, it also passes for a sculpin or small baitfish.
Make it yourself
Advanced9 materials · 12 steps
- Pattern
- Articulated Mouse
- Style
- Streamer
- Hook
- Streamer hooksize 2
- Thread
- Black 140 denier
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- TailGrizzly marabou
- RibWhite floss
- BodyBlack chenille
- HackleGrizzly saddle hackle
- ConnectionBlack beading wire
- Front HookStreamer hook, size 2
- LegsBlack and white barred rubber legs
- HeadSpun black and white deer hair
- Eyes3D plastic eyes
Details
- Colors
- Black, White
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (12)
- Mount the rear hook and lay a black thread base from eye to bend.
- Tie in a full clump of grizzly marabou at the bend, about one and a half shank lengths long.
- Tie in the white floss rib, a grizzly saddle hackle by its tip, and a length of black chenille at the bend.
- Wrap the chenille forward in touching turns and tie off two eye widths behind the eye.
- Palmer the grizzly hackle forward in open turns, then counter-wrap the white floss through it in even bands.
- Whip finish the rear hook and remove it from the vise.
- Mount the front hook, thread a loop of black beading wire through the rear hook eye, and lash both ends down the front shank; glue the wraps.
- Repeat a short chenille body, floss rib and palmered grizzly hackle over the rear half of the front shank.
- Tie in two or three barred rubber legs per side so they sweep back past the hook bend.
- Spin small bunches of black and white deer hair to the eye, packing each one tight.
- Trim the deer hair into a round head, leaving the underside flat for hook gap.
- Glue the 3D plastic eyes to the sides of the head and whip finish.
Proportions (5)
- Tail: about one and a half shank lengths of the rear hook.
- Hackle: fibres roughly one and a half times the hook gap.
- Hinge: about the length of one hook eye between sections, enough to swing.
- Head: trimmed round, about as wide as the hook gap is deep.
- Legs: reaching back just past the front hook bend.
Tips (4)
- Stack black and white deer hair bunches alternately to keep clean bars in the trimmed head.
- Glue the wire wraps on the front shank so the hinge never twists or slips.
- Use a razor blade for the final head trim; it leaves smoother, rounder shape than scissors.
- Leave a little thread room behind the eye before spinning hair so the finish stays neat.
Common mistakes (4)
- Crowding the eye with deer hair leaves no space to finish; stop spinning a few millimetres short.
- Spinning loose bunches gives a spongy head that sinks; pack every bunch hard.
- Trimming the belly too round blocks the hook gap; cut it flat underneath.
- A long hinge lets the tail foul the front hook; keep the gap short.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 2 · Materials only · 12 flies
$59.65
$4.97 a fly
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 10 more
Every item in this kit · 12 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$6.50
- 3D plastic eyes$5.95
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$2.95
- White floss$3.25
- Black beading wire$3.25
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$4.95
- Black chenille$5.90
- Grizzly saddle hackle$11.95
- Black and white barred rubber legs$3.50
- Spun black and white deer hair$5.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 2 · Materials only · 48 flies
$162.50
$3.39 a fly
Bought separately $171.05 · you save $8.55
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 10 more
Every item in this kit · 12 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$13
- 3D plastic eyes$11.90
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$5.90
- White floss$6.50
- Black beading wire$6.50
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$19.80
- Black chenille$17.70
- Grizzly saddle hackle$47.80
- Black and white barred rubber legs$14
- Spun black and white deer hair$22
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 2 · Materials only · 144 flies
$410.30
$2.85 a fly
Bought separately $466.25 · you save $55.95
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 10 more
Every item in this kit · 12 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$35
- 3D plastic eyes$35.70
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$17.70
- White floss$13
- Black beading wire$13
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$59.40
- Black chenille$53.10
- Grizzly saddle hackle$143.40
- Black and white barred rubber legs$35
- Spun black and white deer hair$55
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 2 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$209.65
$17.47 a fly
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 19 more
Every item in this kit · 21 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$6.50
- 3D plastic eyes$5.95
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$2.95
- White floss$3.25
- Black beading wire$3.25
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$4.95
- Black chenille$5.90
- Grizzly saddle hackle$11.95
- Black and white barred rubber legs$3.50
- Spun black and white deer hair$5.50
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 2 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$305
$6.35 a fly
Bought separately $321.05 · you save $16.05
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 19 more
Every item in this kit · 21 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$13
- 3D plastic eyes$11.90
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$5.90
- White floss$6.50
- Black beading wire$6.50
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$19.80
- Black chenille$17.70
- Grizzly saddle hackle$47.80
- Black and white barred rubber legs$14
- Spun black and white deer hair$22
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 2 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$542.30
$3.77 a fly
Bought separately $616.25 · you save $73.95
Includes Streamer hook · 3D plastic eyes · and 19 more
Every item in this kit · 21 items
Hooks & beads
- Streamer hook$35
- 3D plastic eyes$35.70
Thread & wire
- Black 140 denier thread$17.70
- White floss$13
- Black beading wire$13
Materials
- Grizzly marabou$59.40
- Black chenille$53.10
- Grizzly saddle hackle$143.40
- Black and white barred rubber legs$35
- Spun black and white deer hair$55
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
How it was made
1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked
1 Saved
Remixes
Remixed from
- Zebra Barred Articulated Mouseyou are here
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“Shift the colors so its as if zebra stripped”
fly pattern · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- mouse
- articulated
- streamer
- deer hair
- grizzly
- marabou
- rubber legs
- night fishing
- trout
- bass
- black
- white