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JakeMc1

Buck Tail

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With bucktails, it is best to find a local shop and hand pic them even if they are a dollar more than online so that you can select the qualities you need; all bucktail is not made the same. Quality of the colors and thoroughness of the dye job will vary depending on the place that is doing the dyeing.

 

Kirk

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If you have a choice the bucktails from Wapsi in any shop will always be very good quality. In the other direction if you want the best price always buy in bulk direct, by the hundred count, in each color needed (I'm a commercial tyer, so that's how I do all my materials, if possible).

 

Tight lines

Bob LeMay

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If you are going to buy on line make sure its boned . Can make a big difference. You don't want tanned necessarily but at least boned and salt dried. If you do end up with hides or pelts that have fat left in them you can stretch them out on a board and cover with a layer of salt and borax. This is especially critical if you live in a humid area.

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Saltwater Edge Premium bucktails are by far the best I have found, but they are expensive and last I checked no longer available. Hairline bucktails are very reasonable and certainly serviceable, at least in my experience. You can get them from Stockards or pretty much anywhere else

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For really cheap ones, try your local game processing shop, then dye them yourself, I am trying that this year, have 100 tails on order, will let you know how it goes.

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I agree with what these folks have said about selecting what you need. I've also purchased from most places listed. All will give you decent tails, but it really depends on what you're tying. For example, if you're tying size 6 streamers, you won't do well with buying saltwater type tails with hair that is over 4 inches long. You may not even do well with large tails anyway.

 

You'll pay more for them , then end up with a lot of wasted material. For such small flies, you may be best to buy small or medium size tails, that have a fine texture hair. Which, as Kirk said, is best determined by looking them over before buying if possible. You'll pay less per tail & have more usable hair for the intended purpose.

 

I used to tie commercially too. I also bought tails bulk, both dyed & raw. I tied a lot of small hair jigs for bass, so I purposely bought small or medium size tails, that had fine hair. This was best for tying the jigs. I also tied bigger jigs & flies, so I also bought larger tails. Sometimes I would get them where they had finer hair, which I felt was better for tying flies, and when I got courser hair, I often used it for tying the larger type jigs.

 

My point is that simply buying the cheapest will not always give you the best value, nor the best tails for your purpose. All natural materials especially those that come from hunting such as deer tails & hides, will have some range of variation. Unlike synthetics, there is no quality control, so you get what is harvested & processed. Be sure you're buying what you need, and shop around until you find a source that gives you the best value, even if it means paying a little more per tail. If you can tie more flies with a tail that you paid $4 for, that's a better value than paying $3 for a tail that only allows you to tie half as many flies in the sizes you need! ;)

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tidewaterfly said it best. It really depends on what you are tying. However, if you can't find the quality you seek and say half of the hairs are to large or have to much crimp don't through it away some of can be ok for spinning or stacking.

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