John Barr's Slumpbuster combines a rabbit strip tail with a pine squirrel or rabbit strip body for maximum pulsation and bulk. The cone head gets it deep quickly. A fish-catcher when nothing else works. Olive and brown match sculpin and crayfish; black excels in off-color or low-light conditions.
1. Cone head — Slide a gold brass cone onto the hook and push it to the eye.
2. Thread base — Attach olive thread behind the cone and build a base to the bend.
3. Tail/strip — Tie in a 3-inch olive rabbit fur zonker strip at the bend. The strip should extend one hook-shank length past the bend.
4. Body — Wind gold tinsel forward from the bend to the cone as an underbody. The strip can be palmered over this or left trailing.
5. Palmer (optional) — Wind the rabbit strip forward over the tinsel underbody in open spirals to the cone, or leave the strip trailing and just use the tinsel body alone.
6. Collar — Tie in a small bunch of olive marabou behind the cone as a collar.
7. Head — Build a thread collar snug behind the cone. Whip finish and apply head cement.
