Choosing Fur for Salmon flies

[Piker20 0]

Looking for some info about mixing matching hairs in salmon flies. Do some hairs ruin the action of others when tied together?

[Crackaig 0]

I'm not really sure I get where you are coming from. By "Fur" do you mean for dubbing? Or are you looking for winging material?

Cheers,

C.

[Crackaig 0]

Now I see the poll (my browser jumped to your post) I get it. I would point out that none of the materials on your list is a fur. They are all hairs.

 

I've been known to use all those mixes within the same fly. The Ally's Shrimp for example contains buck tail and squirrel. The Sunray Shadow Black monkey hair and buck tail. Usually though the various kinds of hair are not mixed. If you want a mix it is more usual to make it of two colours of the same hair. Most flies that use different hairs use them either in different places, like wing and tail as in the Ally's, Or in stacked bunches, like the Sunray, white buck tail with black monkey hair over (I sub goat). Last year I noticed the inclusion of a lot of rabbit zonker strips into salmon tubes.

 

Cheers,

C.

[Piker20 0]

Thats what you get for rushing. Yes mean hairs.

Is there some rules for the position of stiffer hairs if mixed with softer ones? I have used bucktail in some flies over arctic fox but wonder if I am losing something by having the stiffer hair on top. In the water it seems to move well and retain some profile.

I have a bag of zonker that I haven't touched in 7 years and was thinking of tubes with some on but not sure how that would work.

[Crackaig 0]

Very popular on the Helmsdale. Just tie it in over the tail by one end. The popular one last year was deep red barred rabbit strip. About 2 to 3 inches long.

 

Buck tail goes very soft in the water, so shouldn't restrict the softer material.

 

Cheers,

C.

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

I use rabbit, possum, badger, bear,squirrel,bucktail,and fox all the time. For the rabbit I use it in a dubbing loop to create a collar with a ton of movementif you make a collar of guinnea or pheasant hackle then collar it with the rabbit it holds the rabbit up a bit then it makes great motion of pulsing just on the drift

[Piker20 0]

i have a heap of rabbit so will try that on some sea trout flies.

[Micke HR 0]

You can use stiffer hair in the wing when the stream is hard and go fast , example buck-tail , squirrel and ice bear hair and softer hair when the stream going slow example, fox hair, goat, temple dog

[Piker20 0]

You can use stiffer hair in the wing when the stream is hard and go fast , example buck-tail , squirrel and ice bear hair and softer hair when the stream going slow example, fox hair, goat, temple dog

 

do you mix them in your flies or tie soft only/stiff only?

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

sometimes mixing in a few stands of flash can be beneficial too

[riffleriversteelheadslayer 0]

I use the stiffer hairs to hold up some of the softer hair sometimes

[Piker20 0]

I did the stiffer hair under softer hair but videos I've seen don't seem to follow that, just stiff or just soft. Kinda what prompted this Q but I guess there's no hard fast rule. I'll carry on enjoying playing.