Ive been tying for a long time but have always avoided any fly that required spun deer hair.
Recently Ive had the urge to play with it for some ling cod flies. I like the big profile head, and the thought of fishing a fly that wont sink like a rock down some ledges and things.
So here is my first attempt. Not the prettiest thing in the world but I dont think a ling will care.
You need to be careful using superglue with clipped deer hair.
I was messing around with the fly tying guys one night and used superglue on a bass popper I was tying ... I wanted the face of the popper as solid as I could get it.
Much to our surprise, the adhesive had a chemical reaction with the deer hair and the popper started smoking where I had gone a little overboard using superglue... I wasn't sure if the entire bug was going to torch off or explode so I took it outside.
The guys had rapidly left the room when the smoke started.
Eventually, the popper stopped smoking and the face of the bug was indeed, hard as a rock.
Still... I never tried the superglue bit again with clipped deer hair.
Much to our surprise, the adhesive had a chemical reaction with the deer hair and the popper started smoking where I had gone a little overboard using superglue... I wasn't sure if the entire bug was going to torch off or explode so I took it outside.
Something in the deer hair preparation acted as an accelerant to the curing of the superglue. It was just cooking off some "volatile" chemicals. No reason to run out of the room, but I would have walked out calmly, opening windows as I left.
Good reminder to be careful around all the chemicals we use. And we use a few. I use nitrile gloves when reloading shells, and used to wear them when wrapping lead underbodies.
No doubt! Most speed production guys in the states probably do! I never did because I hate Kevlar. I hated having dedicated scissors. I also didn't like the way I didn't always get and even distribution when I would spin hair, but it worked great for stacking color. Of course saying I didn't use it, and then complaining about it's performance on the few times I did is a classic example of blaming the fiddle and not the player.
After as long as I've been tying flies (or attempting to do so, lol.), I'm fortunate in that I have more than my fair share of "dedicated" older scissors. I do know that using Kevlar has eliminated a lot of frustration & outbursts of discouraging words over the years.
The only spool I have that is marked is 3/0. I have smaller spools that I've amassed over the years that appear to be finer. When tying deer hair bodies, I tie-off & switch back to finer conventional thread before adding wings, hackle & finishing the heads.
So what kind of hair are you guys using? I always just grabbed "deer hair" but I'm finding it to be kind of soft and limp for what I want. Trying to build up some sparse but stiff muddlers to skate. Just ordered some cow elk, hoping thats the ticket.
Longer hair for spinning (often marked as "spinning hair"). When using dyed hair, often the hide will tend to curl; I steam that & straighten the hide to make it easier to use.
Sounds like the shop is out of cow elk but they tried to talk me into Antelope. I had no idea people tie with that. Sounds like good stuff but with long tips. Okay if you are trimming it off but won't work for what I'm trying to do.
Antelope is a great material to use when learning to work with hair, but it is not very durable. Deer belly will work well for what you intend to do with it. When selecting the hair you want, you should look for a couple of things.
1) The hair should feel spongey.
2) Take about 12 strands of hair, and pull them apart in the middle. If they will not pull apart, the hair wll not spin well at all. Find another patch of hair.
3) Select the longest hair you can find.
4) As far as brands go, I prefer Natures Spirit, Hairline, and Spirit River in no particular order.
5) The less under furin the patch, the better.
I spin/stack with GSP 130. I have kevlar, but never use the stuff. I slice through my hair too often when using Kevlar. Jim obviously has the touch to work with Kevlar.
I made this offer to Nick, but if anyone wants to learn to work with deer hair, I will have an extra vise at the Albany show. I would be happy to share what I know.
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