tying deer hair fly for bass.....

[oneslammedpanel 0]

hey guys.

I have never been very good at the deer hair style flies, but recent bass catch has made me think i should learn?..i am haveing a very hard time getting the flies to look "full" is there any step by step pics any where on how to make hair flies?...any help would be very apreciated,,

[Guest]

The biggest hurdle for hair bugs is making sure the hair is packed tight. When you spin or stack hair make sure it is packed tight against the previous hair before adding another clump.

 

You can do this with a hair packer or with your index finger and thumb. You will be amazed at how many pencil sizedclumps of hair you can get on a hook if you pack it well.

[mb82 0]

I made my own Stacker by using a Bic G2 pen( gel pen) and removing the pen part. I gave up on deer hair flys though because like SH said you would be amazed as to how much deer hair you can fit onto a hook.

[Guest]

Try this and see if it helps.

 

http://www.charliesflybox.com/flybox/details.cfm?parentID=38

 

The trick is to NOT use pencil sized clumps. I use clumps that are, literally, as much hair as I can hold in my fingers. The more hair you can get on the hook tightly, the more durable and better floating the fly will be.

Hope this helps.

Charlie

[Sean Juan 0]

Wow Ragin' I've been tying with deer hair for a long time and I've never seen that baggie trick - definitely a keeper.

 

Question about the size of the clumps - I can see the advantage in using larger clumps but is there any impact on the durability of the fly given that the ratio of strands of deer hair to wraps of thread is drastically reduced?

 

I'll be giving that method a try next time I'm at the bench.

 

Thanks

[Guest]

Sean-

Actually, the hair bugs I've tied with this big-clump technique are incredibly durable. I owned one white popper for several years and literally hundreds of fish, before it ended up high in a cottonwood tree. Packing the hair tightly leaves little room for slippage, and while it is a learned technique to fully compress all that hair, it can be done easily enough. The Diver on my site has three large clumps of hair stacked on top of each other, and (I think) three bunches of three clumps as you travel up the hook, for a total of NINE BIG BUNCHES OF HAIR. This assures that the hair body is dense and will trim to shape nicely, and with the addition of steaming them, prevent the fly from changing shape when it's fished.

I know, that's a long winded answer, but to make it short:

NO, they are more durable this way;-)

Charlie

[Kyle Hand 0]

Somebody may have aleady told you this, but I tie in my deer hair, trim and then steam the deer hair and get after it with a bodkin to see if there are any strays.

 

Then I trim it again and go from there.

 

Kyle

[Sean Juan 0]

Ragin'

 

Tried it and I like it...takes a bit of getting used to - actually more over coming habit than anything but I must say I think it is a better method than multiple smaller bunches packed together.

 

Thanks

[jschmidt63 0]

Chris Helm

 

of Whitetail Fly teing Supplies, hes a nice guy and an expert deer hair tyer.

 

Call him, trust me, he helped me a bunch.

 

Whitetail Fly Tieing Supplies

7060 White Tail Court

Toledo, Ohio 43617

 

1-800-579-5549

 

bought his video on tying deer hair, bought his brassie hair stacker, some gel spun, a great bobbin and some great deer hair

 

I also bought a danaking vise from him

[atroutbum2 0]

Ragin, i am sure glad i read this thread, i have never seen the baggie trick or even heard of the steamin trick, anywhere in any of my deerhair tying books. I cant wait to try it out, and see if i cant improve on my bassbug work. Thanks.

[oneslammedpanel 0]

well i figured out th answer for my deer hair flies!!!

 

Just dont try to tie them! I cant do it period, I spin the hair then the thread snaps, I cant hold the clumps of hair with my big fingers.I t is realy frustrateing to me so I am better off buying bass flies, I can tie twenty NICE nymphs before i can tie one peice of sh*t hair bug!!!!

 

I give up which I dont do easily....

[Blueman89 0]

The best thing you can do is buy good deer hair. If it isn't the hollow belly or body hair then it won't spin period. As for the thread, I use 6/0 thread. Most guys say you need 3/0 or kevlar thread but I don't use it. You just have to pull the thread right to it's max then use a few more wraps. If you would like I might be able to put something up on how to spin hair.

[jschmidt63 0]

oneslammedpanel

 

If your thread is snapping it is way too light, trust me I learned. Dont give up. When I switch to strong material it makes a big difference. Blueman noted that some folks use 3/0 or kevlar, which is true. I use gel spun, which you cannot break, you just cant. When you are trying to flair a huge mass of deer hair you just need a very strong material, I dont care how good you are I think it makes a difference. Just my opinion. Ragin's link above is really helpful and he has a good point, not just a pencil but a big bunch. If you have a really strong material you dont have to spin it either, you just pull hard and it flairs.

 

If you get Chris Helms DVD you can watch him do it with gel spun and it changed my deer spinning abilities overnight. Im still learnin but I really enjoy it now.

 

good luck with it!

 

[harleyhunter 0]

hey guys,

 

Does Whitetail Fly Tieing Supplies have a web site? Also whats the name of that video? I'm new to fly tying and will be tying as a hobby once I get all my tools and vise that I want. I'll probably be doing a lot of bass bugs cause thats my favorite fishing! Thanks for the help ahead of time guys.

 

[jschmidt63 0]

harleyhunter

 

Whitetail doesnt have a web site as far as I know, Chris is kind of low tech in that respect. But if you call him he will help you with all deer type supplies, plus other stuff. He sells the danaking line of vises.

 

The DVD I got was Hooked On Fly Tying Series Spinning Deer Hair, but I know he has several others.