I have a question

[Guest]

Hey yall, how do you make a deer hair popper? I heard that they`re great for fly fishing, but I don`t knw how to tie them. I just got done experimenting with one and it floats, but I don`t know if it will work. What I did was I took a clump of deer hair and tied it to the hook shank where it puffed up, and then I`d go down the hook shank a lil more and do it again. I did this about 3 times down the hook, then I tied in two long pieces of badger neck hackle, where it was kinda ved out. I doubt this fly will work and that`s not the purpose of this topic. The purpose is to figure out how in the world do I spin deer hair. Oh, also what I did to the fly was trim it so that all the pieces were the same size. I heard that deer hair poppers work really great and I was wonderin how to do it. Thanks in advance. You guys here are great!!-redneck

[Guest]

I'll be the first to admit that I am no expert when it comes to spinning deer hair but from what you explained your on the right track. When I finish stacking all the hair I use scissors to trim the hair down to about the height I want and then I take the fly out of the vise and begin sculpting it with a very sharp razor blade. It's that step that is most important in my eyes because if the fly ends up uneven then it will ride kinda strange in the water. If you can get ahold of Big Daddy Hubbard here on the forum I have seen his topwater deer hair flies and they are top notch and I'm sure he could give you a few pointers!

[Guest]

You're on the right track, but you also want to pack the clumps of deer hair as you spin the hair. This will make the body denser, and will help it float better. There are tools sold that make packing easier or you can make one. It only needs to have enough surface so it won't cut the hair or your tying thread, and also needs to fit over the hook eye. I use one called a Brassie.

 

For a basic bass bug, using single colors of hair or bands of hair keep the clumps of hair about the size of a pencil, if you try to spin too much you'll have a difficult time, and it won't pack well. Coarser deer body hair usually is better for big bugs than fine hair. Deer or Elk body hair both make good bugs. Don't use bucktail. Although you will sometimes get some good hair for spinning at the base of a bucktail.

 

You want to use a thread that's strong, but won't cut the hair. I prefer Danville Flat Waxed Nylon, which is a single strand nylon floss, but there are other threads that will also work just as well. Kevlar is not a good thread for spinning. Some people like to start with a thread base & some like to spin on the bare hook shank. I prefer the thread base as it aids in locking the hair in place, but it is slightly harder to pack.

 

For regular type bass bugs there are 2 ways you can do it. The first is tie in a tail, then spin your hair & make your body, or tie the body first, and add the tail last like you would on a cork or foam popper. The first method looks better in my opinion, but the fish don't care either way. Bucktail or other tail hair (squirrel, fox, etc),neck or short saddle hackle feathers make a good tail. You can also make a tail using the same body hair that you spin with, but just use long hair, and be sure the tips are pointing toward the back end when you spin the first clump. When spinning hair, I trim the tips from each clump so they are all about an 1-1/4 inches long, which makes handling them easier.

 

The first clump of hair should be tied on the straight section of hook shank right where the bend starts unless you're going to add the tail last, then leave some space for tying in the tail. Then add clumps of hair, spinning forward and packing the hair back against the first clump as you work towards the hook eye. The real trick is getting that first bit of hair anchored, and pack each subsequent clump tight. I often add a little superglue to the thread base of the first clump with a needle, let it dry and go from there.

 

You should also learn to wrap enough thread through each clump as you spin to anchor it & keep it from moving later on, but not so much that it won't allow you to pack it, or will interfere with the next clump.

 

As you spin the hair along the shank, allow enough space behind the hook eye to make a neat thread head. Don't try to spin hair right against the hook eye. With practice you should be able to determine where to stop.

 

After you're done spinning, and have tied off your thread, then you can trim the hair to whatever shape you want the bug to be. Trim a little at a time with good pair of scissors, get the basic shape first, then do your final trimming. As Smalliehunter said a razor blade works well for the final trimming. The older type double edge blades works very well, as they are flexible enough to bend to the contour of the body. I like to trim the bottoms of my bugs flat to allow plenty of space for the hook gape, but don't trim too close to the shank or you may cut the thread & ruin the whole thing.

 

After you've got this much learned then you can learn to add spots to your bugs!

I hope this helps!

 

[Guest]

Jim has covered it. The Brassie Jim mentioned is a Chris Helm invention. He's the master around here for deer hair. If you still need help Helm has videos out that show how to stack hair but with practice you can do without.

 

Two things I will add, if you don't get a Brassie you can use a pen or strong tube. Remove the guts from a pen and slide the hole over the hook eye to push the hair back.

 

As for thread, try Gudebrod GX2. It's strong so you can pull it tight and it won't normally cut your deer hair like Kevlar or thin thread will. It's also very slippery so it allows the deer hair to spin around the hook.

 

What Jim is talking about when he says coarser hair is the hair from a winter coat as opposed to a summer coat. The winter hair gets thick and fills with air pockets that the deer use to warm themselves. Thin hair means more hair to make your bodies and won't quite spin as well.

[Guest]

Thanks yall so much!! I`m going to go upstairs and use yalls tips and see if I can`t tie me a good lil popper. Do I need eyes on it? Do I need to worry bout makin it different colors? Can I catch them just the normal deer hair color? I`l be sure to let yall know how the fly I`m about to tie ends up, and then after that, if it catches any fish. I`m so glad I found this site and all yall are so helpful. I`m only 14 and can`t participate in the fly swaps, because I`m not good enough yet. Someday though, I hope to own my own fly shop, and yall can come and we can have a lil fly swap. LOL. Well anyways, I`m gonna go tie that fly and then I`ll get back with yall bout how it looks.-redneck

[Guest]

You've got lots of time then. Good Luck.

 

Eyes and color will come. For now, practice tying the plain ones and when you get them down you can work on colors and eyes. If you are bass fishing it is important to have shape and a lil' splash for now.

[Guest]

Well, like I promised, I`m gonna let yall know how the fly ended up. I did like someone said, and tied in the hackle first. I tied it where it looks like a v sticking out, so maybe a fish thinks it`s a mouse. Then I tied some red yarn in where it would look like blood,(That`s my little thing that I always do to a fly, just thinks it helps a lil).Well anyways, then I tied in all the pieces of deer hair, bout the width of a pencil, then tied it off next to the eye of the hook. Put about 4 or 5 clumps on before I was at the eye. Then I tied it off and then trimmed it down. I did like someone said and made it flat on the bottom. I didn`t have a razor blade and my mom said it`s to dangerous so I just have to use my tryin scissors, but when I get older, I`ll be usin a razor blade. Well, the fly looks much better than the fly I tied yesterday, and wanted to thank yall once again for the help, and I think I`m gonna go tie 2 or 3 more, then experiment some more with other stuff, and maybe find another bass fly. Well, I`m gonna go tie some more right now! -redneck

[Guest]

Redneck-

 

Jim has covered technique nicely.

 

Before fancy tools came into existence, 'necessity', being the "mother of invention", caused us to dream up things like a button with holes large enough to go over the eye of the hook; drilled wood dowel; slug or coin with center drilled out; stripped out Bic pen, using pointed end of hollow shaft; shell casing with spent primer removed, et cetera. Something with a blunt face is better than a tapered point, like the pen

 

Griffin makes a very nice plastic hair compactor with four different sized holes in the flat flanged end. You could make the same thing with stuff hanging around the house.

 

We, of the single-edged razor blade generation, learned there is no better substitute than that for shaping packed deer hair. But, because Mom is in command, here's another idea for your consideration - a battery operated grooming trimmer will do a credible job.