Nancy P And Spinning Deer Hair Substitute?

Maybe you could get a one on one lesson from a local fly shop or some one in your area. I'm sure someone in your area would step up.
Keep trying I know there are skills I've struggled with that took many tries and flies to get better at.
You will get it eventually.
Thanks for that video, that action on that fly looks killer.

cmann886 said:

https://ozarkflyfisherjournal.wordpress.com/2016/12/13/galloups-nancy-p-brian-wise-video/

The above link shows how to tie the Nancy P. I have watched Gallup's video on spinning deer hair and several others on how to do it and I just can't get it. I have had modest success with craft hair and Senyo's Lazer Dubbing getting the desired profile, but I am concerned that neither has the same movement and attractive noise that spun deer does. I would appreciate any suggestions on substitutes or tricks to better spin deer hair.

Thank you in advance

Cal

Click to expand...

What issues are you having with spinning hair?

I struggle with several things, but the two biggest are getting a collar that flows back without flaring and then when I move to the head, I don't get a very dense and even profile even after packing and trimming. That said, I doubt I have ever spent 11 minutes trying to get a good looking head as the guy in the video did.

Get an old ball point pen, take the cartridge out. Use it to push the stacked deer hair down tight against each clump that you spin. I also have several sizes of drink straws to do the same thing on larger hooks. Just look around for hollow things slightly larger than the eye of the hook that you are tying on.

cmann886 said:

I struggle with several things, but the two biggest are getting a collar that flows back without flaring and then when I move to the head, I don't get a very dense and even profile even after packing and trimming. That said, I doubt I have ever spent 11 minutes trying to get a good looking head as the guy in the video did.

Click to expand...

You can do a small thread build up over the collar butts toward the rear of fly after fixing the collar to the hook to lay/push the collar back some.
I noticed in the video he really focused on packing the hair tight as he tied the successive bunches on which is a key. I've seen a small electric beard trimmer used before to shape deer hair heads and bodies too.
Probably practice and repetition will help more than anything.
Rembrandt and Da Vinci didn't become master artists over night and neither has any master fly tier.
Perhaps @Shawn West can chime in with some tips.

After spinning and packing, hold the thread taught and pull towards the rear to keep pressure. Small drop of glue on threads will help. Once you do it a few hundred times, the glue really isn't needed.

Get the right deer hair too, it is tough to get it right, if using the wrong type.

cmann886 said:

I struggle with several things, but the two biggest are getting a collar that flows back without flaring and then when I move to the head, I don't get a very dense and even profile even after packing and trimming. That said, I doubt I have ever spent 11 minutes trying to get a good looking head as the guy in the video did.

Click to expand...

You're going to get a collar that flairs in most cases. It flairs because the hair is hollow I believe. Some hair, like caribou, flairs more than others. I've found that whitetail and coastal blacktail don't flair quote as much. A shop like Blue Ribbon Flies could probably tell you if they have something that fits the bill. They tend to sort hides for particular purposes/flies.