They grow it to keep them warm in the cold winter months. It’s hard to see until viewed from a different angle. Here is a patch with good coloration.īut there’s a problem with this patch. I look for short black tips first, a short tan section, then the length of gray to determine what size flies I think the patch will tie.įor X Caddis, I like several patches in a variety of colors. Let me reiterate, the length of the fiber isn’t what is most important to me. I’m not sure the fish care, but it looks good! It’s more difficult to see the segmentation because the patch has been dyed, but it still has the same characteristics. The patch on the left is dyed dun, which looks great on an imitation of a BWO. The other patches might tie up to size 14, but I use them specifically for size 16 – 20 flies. The patch on the right will tie several sizes of flies because even though each fiber is longer than the one in the middle, the gray (or grayish-tan) is long enough to tie size 8 and 10 flies. Here are three patches of deer hair from my material stash: This area of the fiber is hollow, allowing it to flare. I look at the gray section because that’s where I want the thread wrap to be and create the right amount of flare for the wing. Total fiber length isn’t the overriding factor in selecting deer hair for an upright wing. There are three distinct colors in the image above: very short black tips, short tan section, and finally a long gray section extending to the hide. Here is what I look for to tie Sparkle Duns (or Comparadun – the only difference is the tail). No matter what type of deer hair you select, avoid patches with broken tips, curved fibers, and underfur. Note: Thanks to Nature’s Spirit for their permission in using the descriptions above. It is finely barred with very short tips, with enough compression to make it ideal for small comparaduns, sparkle duns and caddis. Hock – comes primarily from early season whitetails. Suitable for a wide range of spinning applications. Spinning – Late season hides graded for length (1 ½ to 3 inches), minimum underfur, good textures, straightness and hair density on the hide. The mule deer is one of my favorite because of the rich gray tones. Every tier will find a use for this hair. Just the right stiffness and compression.Īll Purpose – This is high-quality hair that can tie a variety of flies, yet fails to fit neatly into our other more specific categories. When stacked the barring is amazingly beautiful. Stimulator – The richly colored hair from the backstrip of mid to late season deer is just right for Stimis. Some what longer tips and less compression than our comparadun hair. X Caddis – This is fairly short and fine hair with just enough compression to create a slightly flared wing. Correct Compression in the key to a nicely tapered body and wing which will flair and stand up correctly. The tips must be short and the hair fine, but not so fine that it won’t compress. Here are deer hair descriptions from the Nature’s Spirit website.Ĭomparadun – Only a select few pieces meet our strict standards for tying comparaduns and sparkle duns. You’ll probably find Ziploc bags of hair in your local fly shop. The other source I highly recommend for quality deer hair (and other hair) is Nature’s Spirit. Their Sparkle Dun deer hair bins were empty last summer when I stopped. I was able to do that when stopping in West Yellowstone at BRF. I like to select my own deer hair, checking for the properties specific to the application. Their fly patterns had a profound impact on my fly tying over the years. I’ve purchased deer hair from Blue Ribbon Flies (BRF) in West Yellowstone, MT for several years. Selecting the proper deer hair for tying your flies will go a long way in successfully creating a beautiful, well-proportioned fly. Let’s proceed with a little helpful information about selecting deer hair for tying upright wings for mayflies, tented wings for caddis, and long fluttering wings for stoneflies. I’ll concentrate of the deer hair I use for the flies I tie. I’ve tied these, but generally don’t fish with them. I wrote a post last year, Sparkle Dun Deer Hair, but I thought I’d share my knowledge about the characteristics of deer hair I use to tie my favorite flies.Īnd before you ask, I don’t tie a lot of flies utilizing spun deer hair. Last year I tied almost 600 Sparkle Duns and close to 200 Caddis in a variety of sizes. I enjoy using a dry fly to fool trout with mayfly, caddis, and stonefly imitations. One of the reasons is I tie them on my leader and fish them! These two flies have worked so well for me. If you follow my weekly posts, you’ve read about the success using Sparkle Duns and X Caddis in my fly fishing.
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