gofishingup 0 Report post Posted April 15, 2022 I'm looking at tying some jigs that require me to use real hage aurora fish skin. This is the material they use for the wing casing on sabiki rigs. I've looked all over the internet and cannot find a source to purchase this real fish skin material from. Does anyone know where I can purchase this real fish skin from so I can tie the jigs I want? The material is on all the sabiki rigs but it is impossible to find. Any help to locate this material would be greatly appreciated. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted April 16, 2022 It appears that the company that makes the Sabiki rigs is the only source for "fish skin". I E-mailed them and asked if the skin is available in sheets for fly tyers. I'll let you know if I get a response. In the meantime, if you want to contact them yourself, here's the link. https://hayabusafishing.com/contact-03/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted April 16, 2022 couldnt you use sili skin chewee skin looks like a gummy minnow Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Capt Bob LeMay 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2022 A few years back one of my anglers brought a few gummi minnows with him and I thought they were just a gimmick since they didn’t look life like at all in the water… The fish ate them like they were the real thing… So much for my opinion… Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philly 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2022 I have/had some Sabiki rigs. I'll have to see if I can find them. They'd probably make a decent panfish fly. As far as gummi minnows go. I've tried them, but not with a lot of success, in fresh water. Plus the material can be a PITA to work with. Now a question about working with real fish skin. I brought an eel skin from a European tyer associated with the FF@ list many years ago at the NJ Fly Tying Symposium. It's been sitting in one of my materials drawers gathering dust. It can be softened and made pliable by soaking in water. I thinking of turning it into something like pork rinds. Any suggestions on how to preserve it and keep it soft once I cut it into strips. Probably could make something similar to the Sabiki rigs, also. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted April 17, 2022 As with pork rinds, the only way to keep them supple is to keep them in brine. You could "tan" them and treat them like a pelt, but the chemicals used might turn the fish away. That said, as far as I can tell, the material the OP is interested in isn't "real" fish skin. It's "Hage Real Fish Skin" in Aurora color. They've got information about it on the Hayabusa website ... but I can't find it offered as a product. I'm assuming I'll get a response from my E-mail tomorrow during regular business hours. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cphubert 0 Report post Posted April 18, 2022 When I was young, we used eel skin plugs (a dowel or lead head wrapped to a hook with a hole thru it) to fish for stripers one skin would last a long time. They used to dry out between fishing trips and be reconstituted when you went on the next trip. The skins where salted and used to turn blue not anywhere as good as live eels but a lot easier to use and keep unless you encountered bluefish. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted April 19, 2022 I got a response today. Actually, I got two E-mails. The first one said that they didn't sell the fish skins. The second one said: Michael, Actually we may be able to bring in these fish skins in a package from Japan. https://www.hayabusa.co.jp/hayabusa/products/P220/ https://www.hayabusa.co.jp/hayabusa/products/P221/ What kind of quantity are you looking for? Thanks. Kazuki Hayabusa U.S.A. I'm not going to order this stuff ... I'm not interested in being a "pusher", even of fly tying drugs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
