What is the best deer hair for fly tying?

Humpy Hair is deer hair that is longer than Comparadun winging material and shorter and a little coarser than spinning deer hair. Natural white Deer Belly hair is perfect for tying White Bucktail wings, small parachute posts, and for spinning natural white bodies and heads on flies.

What floats better deer hair or elk hair?

The larger the inside diameter, or more air space you have in the center of the hair, the better it will float. Thick hair (large outside diameter) with thin walls and lots of inside diameter like deer rump and body hair is great for spinning but hard to tame into a decent looking wing on a fly like an Elk Hair Caddis.

Is deer hair Hollow?

The fur in a deer’s winter coat is hollow, which allows air to be trapped. The trapped air makes it easier for the deer to retain its body heat, according to the National Wildlife Federation. In addition to trapping more body heat in the hollow hairs, a deer’s winter coat absorbs more sunlight.

What flies use deer hair?

Deer hair is used for many types of flies, but mainly for two specific uses: wings, mainly on dry flies, and bodies and/or heads on muddler style flies and bass bugs. The hair you want for these two applications is very different, but there’s still some common things that you are looking for.

What thread do you use for deer hair?

Use the gel-spun thread only for the hair portion of the fly. For tying materials such as rubber legs, hackle, or marabou on the back of the shank, use 6/0 (140 denier) threads.

How do you make a deer hide for fly tying?

For preserving the skin (deer for example) for fly tying hair you should next salt the flesh well with non-iodized table salt, working plenty of the salt into the entire hide to include the ears, paws, and split tail. Next soak the skin in a solution of 1 pound of salt per gallon of water until very flexible.

Do deer hang out alone?

Species including birds, deer and snakes are normally active this time of year but with water sources drying up many more animals are on the move and taking their young along as they search for resources.

Why would a DOE be by herself?

The other reason a do may be by herself could be that she was actually in heat and the buck was just trailing her scent and following far behind her until he can catch up.

How do you preserve fly tying materials?

I keep nearly every piece of fly tying material that was once on a live animal or bird in its own zip-lock bag. If I get a bag of loose feathers, I put them all into a single zip-lock bag.” “I keep items in tubs with sealable tops and sprinkle in some moth crystals.

What’s the best way to tie a deer fly?

Cut two to three #2 pencil-size clumps of deer or elk hair as close to the skin as possible. Comb out the hair to remove the underfur. If the hair is to be spun or stacked and the fly won’t have a collar, cut off about 1/4 inch of the tips. Lay the hair at a 45-degree angle on the side of the hook closest to you.

How to make a fly out of deer hair?

This guarantees room for the head of the fly. Select a clump of hair from the deer or elk hide, and trim the hairs from the base of the hide. Carefully pull at the base of the hairs to tease out any underlying fuzz and errant hairs. Gently place the hairs in the hair stacker and tap it against the table top a few times.

How tall is deer hair for spirit fly tying?

It is finely barred with very short tips, with enough compression to make it ideal for small comparaduns, sparkle duns and caddis Ideal for tying medium to large bugs. This naturally white hair dyes to vibrant colors. The length varied from 1 1/2 to about 2 1/4 inches.

What kind of Hair do you use for fly tying?

For our purposes here, I will talk about hair from deer, elk, and moose, and calf body hair. Caribou and antelope both have useable hair for fly tying, but I think the only ones who find this stuff useful are the caribou and antelope. These hairs tend to be soft and have mostly broken tips, rendering them useless for wings and collars.