Drew Chicone synthetic yak hair

[Chefben4 0]

After buying and reading featherbrain you almost immediately want to buy yak from Drew. Smart man that guy is. Puts it on like every other page of the book so by the end you must buy some. I had about $75 worth in my cart. Then I saw something about shipping taking up to 3 weeks or something crazy. Nothing turns me off more then waiting forever for material. Dave did your take a while?

 

I must admit I didn't see the three week shipping notice… Wish I had, its been longer than that, I order some extra white and a couple of colors I was missing. I got my first bunch from a shop in Jersey.

 

Are you having a had time finding some?

 

Yeah, I cant remember the exact wording but I thought it had said 3 weeks before it shipped. I think thats just crazy. I really just want white to tie up some sanibel cannibals. Of course im sure I could mark it up with sharpies too!

[Panama Red 0]

They don't have all colors, but as you said you can use a marker. JS seems to have the best price, check it out.

 

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/item/NM-780075-0000/Spirit-River-UV2-Yak-Streamer-Hair/1.html

[Chefben4 0]

They don't have all colors, but as you said you can use a marker. JS seems to have the best price, check it out.

 

http://www.jsflyfishing.com/item/NM-780075-0000/Spirit-River-UV2-Yak-Streamer-Hair/1.html

 

Thanks Dave. As you can see, I must of looked really hard. I swear when I did I couldnt find any lol. Or I drank too much that night.

[Drew Chicone 0]

Hey guys, sorry to chime in late, but I just found this thread. I am always looking to improve the sport/craft and what I do, and I appreciate the honest feedback above. As far as the yak hair goes... I can't say enough about the stuff... and not just because I sell it. Trust me, it's not like I'm feeding my family of yak hair proceeds.

 

I love this stuff for its translucent qualities, and durability, but also because its length and wiry texture that allows you to create much larger flies. The natural fibers are great for blending because the strands of hair can be counted easily. This allows you to create flies that are more uniform in color and fullness. The coarse hair becomes supple when wet and has a life like quality when stripped. When you are using a material without tapered tips like yak hair or a synthetic like EP or SF Fiber, you can cut a section so you have two flat ends. The section will contain multiple fibers or hairs that are the same length. You can make the section longer by pulling a few hairs or fibers from the ends. This will make the entire section longer and taper the ends… which means the limit on the size flies you can tie just went way up!

 

It’s also is just a touch thicker and stiffer than most synthetics so it doesn’t foul or trap air. Yak hair quickly softens when it saturates with water, and it’s long natural fibers react great to UV light well. It also comes in a variety of colors, and most importantly it is easy to separate individual fibers from the bunch for blending colors.

 

I was tying with it long before I wrote Feather Brain, and I didn't start selling it until I was inundated with requests on where to find it. Back in 2010 I submitted the Sanibel Cannibal pattern to Orvis, and they informed me that they could not accept the fly, because they would no longer be selling Yak Hair, and that I should find an alternative for all my baitfish patterns. This was just the beginning. Pretty short there after, the supply dried up everywhere, so I made it my mission to get my hands on a large supply of the stuff. I tried Hareline, but they said it was to difficult to source, and Wapsi told me I would have to buy 1,000lb's of the stuff in order for them to get it for me. (do you have any idea how much room a 1,000 lb's of yak hair takes up) After months of searching I found a reliable source, but there shipping times were pretty terrible....I ended up buying very large quantities of the stuff for my personal supply, and sold it to just my friends, even then it was still very hard to keep all the colors in stock. After months of personal emails, I started selling the stuff, but I have always been crystal clear about my lead time with this stuff... Thus the 2-3 weeks lead time. Now that it's relatively easy to get, I pretty much have it in stock all the time. In all actuality, I go to the post office nearly every day for one thing or another, so the vast majority of the time you will get your full Yak Hair order in 3-4 days since I ship all the Yak USPS Priority Mail. The only exceptions are if I am fishing out of the country, (you gotta wait until I get home) or if I don't have a specific color in stock, then we both are at the mercy of the distributor.

 

Anyway, that's the background story on yak hair, and why I like it. Feel free to hit me up with any other questions, I'm always happy to talk fly tying or materials any time!

Drew

[ditz2 0]

Hey Drew.....thanks for posting the above info. I have never used the stuff but I am sure many here will be appreciative of your being up front. Makes me want to try some of your materials. Don't get too concerned what most of this forums posters rant about. There is a rumor that the Feds are considering rounding up all contributor and 'detaining' them in one controllable area compound for the safety of the general population. Of course I am one of the safe ones and will be excluded. .....Now where are my meds?

[mikechell 0]

Of course I am one of the safe ones and will be excluded. .....Now where are my meds?

I think you heard them incorrectly ... I believe they will said you'd be "executed" ... not "Excluded".

[agn54 0]

Drew, thanks for chiming in here. I have a question about the yak that is generally sold. There seems to be some inconsistency if it is natural yak or synthetic. Is the stuff you sell natural yak hair? I have been using he stuff sold by Hareline and it works well for a lot of things. However, I have seen it listed under synthetics by some sights and natural fibers on others.