imaxfli78 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Was tying a Humpy pattern from an old FFman(Craven) and it called for "yearling elk", the yearling elk I bought from KS a long time ago was like an inch long. So I used ELK MANE which was like too long, but made GREAT wings but not "soft" enough(hardly splayed) for the humpy part...... any suggestions???? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flytire 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 deer hair works for humpies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
chugbug27 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 What ft said, plus any elk that is not mane or hock. Gretchen and Al's Humpy Encyclopedia has a nice hair selection section http://www.btsflyfishing.com/ And Craven has a good general hair selection article https://midcurrent.com/flies/fly-tying-hair-selection/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bryon Anderson 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Cow elk works well for humpies and is easier to find than yearling elk. Deer body hair is a decent substitute as well. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imaxfli78 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 I would think deer would flair too much....guess I'll just have to wrap those wings big time. That elk mane was great for wings....just split it and a couple wraps and it was perfect!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kimo 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Yearling Elk "I have fallen in love with yearling elk hair. Yearling elk epitomizes what I search for in a piece of hair to use for wings on flies of all sizes. The soft texture coupled with the quickly tapered tips makes this hair great for nearly all winging applications.The somewhat thinner wall thickness and thinner overall diameter makes this hair easy to compress on the hook, yet it is still thick enough to keep the hair from flaring out of bounds when I apply thread tension. Yearling elk hair is longer than cow elk and often as long as bull, making it useable for a range of fly sizes. The tips of a good piece of yearling elk hair taper quickly to a point just as a good piece of cow or bull hair will, forming clean color bands along the tips of hair wings. I use yearling elk on patterns like the Humpy and Stimulator, as its thin wall and diameter allows me to anchor it to the hook and completely compress it with heavy thread tension. Hair that compresses completely on the shank creates far less bulk than hairs with thicker walls. A great piece of yearling elk hair inspires me with its hidden potential, and I have been known to hoard the good stuff to excess. I am a bad man." Charlie Craven From Charlie's book Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying: Modern Techniques for Flies That Catch Fish Kimo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
James 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Not sure where you do business but over the years one of the best place that I have found for hair has been Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone share with them what you are tying and they will hand select the best hair material for your needs. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imaxfli78 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Cool..thanx...I don't think my deer hair is long enough to make the wings and then the hump. And , like I said, the yearling elk I ordered is 1" long-no where near long enough! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
imaxfli78 0 Report post Posted May 22, 2020 Heres my yearling elk desc from old KS catalog...."...perfect for mini-Caddis,mayfies, parachutes etc".....its just over 1 " long........ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flat Rock native 0 Report post Posted May 23, 2020 6 hours ago, James said: Not sure where you do business but over the years one of the best place that I have found for hair has been Blue Ribbon Fly Shop in West Yellowstone share with them what you are tying and they will hand select the best hair material for your needs. +1 on Blue Ribbon. They were 100% on two recent orders in last month....👍👍🎣🎣😎😎 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites