Rabbits Feet

[BattenkillBum 0]

Anyone know what is up with the snow shoe rabbit foot shortage? Ive been to fly shops in NH,VT and NY, no dun rabbits feet, no one can give an answer to why they cant get them. I wonder if this is the new hackle fad we had to suffer thru. What else could they be doing with them,lol.

[petelangevin 0]

Could be the really cold winter having an affect on the trappers who hunt them up in canada.

[oldtrout58 0]

I've been looking for the real deal too. I've found rabbit feet being marketed as snowshoe, but not the genuine article.

[Fish For Life 0]

Lucky for me im never in short supply. We get our own from hunting when needed. Bonus about hunting your own is that you also get the fur and mask.

[colotyer 0]

I just bought black,medium dun and natural cream from blue ribbon flies in west Yellowstone.

[mikechell 0]

They're protesting.

 

[tidewaterfly 0]

Someone correct me here if I'm wrong, but isn't one of the advantages of using the Snowshoe Rabbit feet, the natural oils on the hair? If so, doesn't dyeing them remove much of that natural oils? This is similar to using CDC feathers, which once dyed also removes much of that natural oils that aids in flotation. Seems to me it contradicts the advantages of using such materials if the natural qualities that make using them desirable is removed.

 

I used to raise rabbits & when I was tying commercially sold the Snowshoe feet when I could get them from my suppliers. Side by side, other than sometimes the hair length or density, which is normal with natural materials, I could visually see little difference between the domestic rabbits & the Snowshoe.

 

Please enlighten me on this!

[Dcap240 0]

I may be wrong as well but I don't think it is oils in the snowshoe hare foot that floats it, it is also debated for cdc. Snowshoe is naturally bouyant and waterproof( does not soak up water) and can be treated with gel or paste floatants. I use dyed snowshoe and it floats pretty well without floatant and still floats after a fish slimes it. If it does sink usually a false cast or two is all it takes to get it floating again unlike cdc.

[Piker20 0]

Is it not similar to sheep wool? Natural lanolin keeps it floating. Too much washing/heating/dyeing removes the lanolin and a drop of floatant is all you need. With CDC the air it traps is a big part of it?

[BattenkillBum 0]

I believe from my experience that the crinklely snoeshoe hair also traps air bubbles and that is what gives it its floatabiliy, Not so much natural oils. I have also heard that cold dyeing does not damage material as much.

[deeky 0]

If I recall, the hairs on the feet are hollow to insulate the rabbit from the ground. As much impact on floatability as any oils. Should still float even if the oils are processed out. Otherwise I don't think they would sell as many processed feet as they do.

[Stevester 0]

I am pretty sure that the floatability of snowshoe foot hair has to do with the shape and physical characteristics of the hair, not the properties of the surface oils. Even the natural feet have to washed and processed some so there would be little or no oil left on them by the time you take it out of the package. I have been using it for a number of years and rarely use floatant, although I do keep a drying agent handy to use after catching a fish. I am a fan of foot hair.

 

Steve

[flytire 0]

info on cdc feathers from hans weilenmann

 

http://globalflyfisher.com/tiebetter/tying-with-cdc/

[gunpowderleader 0]

The big issue with hares feet right now is that the areas they are harvested from have not had the normal amounts of snowfall this year, the rabbits are running on more rock and mud than is normal so the hair on the feet is not growing as nicely as usual. The few feet that are coming in are not of usable quality to flies at all. Most of the supply houses are dropping them from inventory for now, ships will not be able to order them and I am sure what few are still available will get bought up fast.

[inuvik77 0]

There's no shortage of rabbit's here in the Mackenzie Delta Arctic that's for sure. Every Rabbit I harvest I make sure I keep the feet, From the front and hind legs. they are certainly the best material for winging dry flies.