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Hardyrod1974

Floatant spray for deer hair bass bugs Who uses what?

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Way back in the 1970's I was able to buy a small (3 or 4 oz.) can of silicone spray for use on my deer hair bass bugs. Now that I'm back to fishing, I want to get another can to keep in my vest but my searches are fruitless so far, whether I search on-line, the hardware stores, big box stores etc.

 

What do you guys use?

I have some small containers of dry fly floatant but that would get costly on deer hair bugs.

 

Richard

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Never have used any, that I can recall; but if I have it likely be GinK. Your mention of silicone spray makes me think "Camp Dry" .

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Just as an aside ... I tried the "As seen on TV" Water Repellent. It might work as advertised on boots and stuff ... but it made absolutely NO difference on flies. I SOAKED them in the stuff the day before I used them on the water. Not only didn't help the flies float ... it didn't even keep them from soaking up water.

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I find I rarely have to use floatant on anything anymore especially bass bugs which I can't get to sink without lots of lead. When I do use a floatant it's a rub on paste such as mucilin green. I doubt a spray on anything would do much in comparison to a paste but I've never used a spray on.

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I can see carrying the Grease based stuff like Mucilin or Gink or Albolene or Chapstick in your pocket, but they don't need any drying time-they don't dry- however all the spray silicone that I have used required some and often some more time to dry. If using a water proofing spray such as Camp Dry or Scotchgard, I would treat the flies in advance, like last week or yesterday.

In fact I have treated dry flies with Gink, Aquel, Mucilin or Albolene at the tying bench and hung them to set before loading them in my boxes. This treatment seems to make them more water repellent.

 

You said back in the '70s and that makes me think of aerosol with the EPA bans and many products gone.

 

The only two sprays I can find are: https://www.cortlandline.com/products/dry-fly-spray & https://loonoutdoors.com/products/fly-spritz-2

The pump spray Cortland may have been around back then and just don't recall because I was into Red Mucilin and the Loon says it's a remake to be less harmful to the environment... -2

 

If you have been away since the '70s you are going to see a number of new things and quite a few that no longer exist, I just try to make do with what is readily available.

 

 

the "As seen on TV" Water Repellent.

This reference is lost on me. TV was last seen in 2009 when they reduced transmission. If it's a product I should avoid I'd like to know the name.

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(1) You said back in the '70s and that makes me think of aerosol with the EPA bans and many products gone.

 

 

the "As seen on TV" Water Repellent.

(2) This reference is lost on me. TV was last seen in 2009 when they reduced transmission. If it's a product I should avoid I'd like to know the name.

(1) Almost ALL of the products are still available. It's only the propellants (Chlorofluorocarbons or CFC's) that are not in use any more.

 

(2) You haven't watched any TV since 2009? Do you ever go into Walmart, Walgreens, CVS or a Mall? All of them have a "As seen on TV" section (Malls usually have a whole store). The product is called, "Just Repel It".

I think the "As Seen on TV" people realized it wasn't even good enough for THEM ... and that's really saying it's BAAAAD. I can't find it on their site. It is on E-Bay:

https://www.ebay.com/p/Just-Repel-It-The-Original-Multi-Surface-Stain-and-Liquid-Repeller-10-5-Oz/1640017818?iid=252240178337&chn=ps

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I have a small bottle of that Water Shed but I've not used it on deer hair. Since I got the hang of packing the hair tighter, I don't think it's needed. Also, be mindful of the materials you use for legs and other dressings. Depending on what you use, it could use some floatant.

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Scotch Guard is probably just as good. It's a teflon repellent that's used to "waterproof" nylon, but doesn't work nearly as well as the stuff they use in the manufacturing process (probably the method of application, rather than the product itself.) It would have to be reapplied, once in a while, but not every time you went fishing.

 

I haven't watched TV since they went HD. I didn't watch much TV before that....

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Heres my two cents

Ive been spinning and cranking out deer hair bass bugs for 25-30 years and have tried everything mentioned so far.

 

They all work to a point.

 

If you really want your bugs to float like a cork or what ever

make your own Daves Fleximent out of ShoeGoo and Toluene thinned like water or Liquid Fusion thinned like water and paint the whole thing after you have it trimmed.

 

Even then after a few hours on the water and a few fish that have crushed it...its going to get waterlogged.

 

In my experience its a waste of time and they fish better waterlogged

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