troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Skins seem to be harder to photograph than birds. I have a drawer in my tying desk off pieces of skins. This is my working group. Not meaning to sound like an old fart, but in someways synthetics have ruined tying because you get an enormous selection of color, but a limited number of textures and each fur dubs very different. Each fur presents different in the water as well. I hope I can convey the texture, shine, luster and feel to you through a two dimensional photo. I will post a few more today but I have to do some stuff so most will be in the coming days. I hope you all have the opportunity to feel a fox, a mole, rabbit and a bear. They all have a nice black fur. They all can be dubbed but they are so different to how they react in water and how they respond to tying. This is the most under rated overlooked common fur. North American Raccoon Another other looked great fur Coyote Mink Feral pig or Wild Boar a pest everywhere in the southern states of the US Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 OK this is hard to do. My two dogs want to help. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Moose Elk Badger Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crazy4oldcars 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 LMAO Your Springer? ain't camerashy. Troutguy, this ought to be a good resource for beginners and experienced tyers alike. Thanks for taking the time. Kirk Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Gray Squirrel tail Pine Squirrel tail Coyote light color mask Moose thin Porcupine The quills make bodys of nypmhs. The quills make realistic legs trim and push copper wire through The guard hair makes realistic legs and quill bodies. Mink tail and a reddish phase skin. The guard hairs make better delicate tails for dry flies than some other materials. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Crazy4oldcars she is my large liver Brittany. She loves my man cave better than the other Brittany. She is AKC registered 20 month old Craigslist throwaway dog. I paid 250 with a large crate. They said the dog wouldn't bond to them and she wasn't what they expected. I felt bad for the dog and my wife let me keep her. She bonded better than my other dog who is attached to me whenever I am home. Thank you for the remark. I have thought about doing this since I joined. There is a great book of materials but it costs so much no one owns it. I kind of feel that I was given a gift to know so many old Catskill tyers as a kid and with what I see in tying we lose a lot of our history and origins and I should pass it on. Materials are getting so costly and rare. I was reading about quail hunting in South Carolina, for one quail are scare, two the state DNR feels less than 5 to 7,000 people hunt quail in South Carolina. Even less have a dog and seriously hunt, I have heard our sport is facing similar decline. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Eastern Cottontail Rabbirt Snowshoe Hare brown phase just starting to turn Yellow Marmot (Western Woodchuck) Woodchuck is a great skin. The tail is brown to black better than bucktail or calf tail. The body has grizzly guard hair and good yellow, red, brown, blackish dubbing. Whitetail Deer small body hair suitable for Elk hair caddis type ties Black Bear Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Amazing collection. Thank you for taking the time to post all these photos. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
troutguy 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Black Bear Muskrat this could be the easiest most versatile dubbing. It goes from cream to almost black. Fine colored woold, alpaca, mohair mix well with it to dye put a highlight color in it. Deer body hair, think bass bugs, humpy's, muddler minnows. Everyone uses Gray Squirrel tail, the body is a treasure trove of guard hair for wings and dubbing. Gray Fox Red Fox Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Troutguy, awesome collection! Quite a resource too! I thought I had an extensive collection & I do, but no where the variety you have! Kudos! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
salmobytes 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 So far nobody's mentioned the Yellow Bellied Marmot, which are common at high altitude in the Northern Rockies. Marmot's make the best fur strip streamers. The skin peels off like a banana peel with no fat to scrape. And the fur is naturally a three color stripe with gray at the base, then a band of whitish gray and then dark brown almost black at the tips. Don't have a picture. I've never seen it for sale. If you plink one with a 22 cal rifle one skin will last a long time. If not a lifetime. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tidewaterfly 0 Report post Posted February 8, 2015 Colin, actually troutguy has mentioned it along with Woodchuck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saltybum 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2015 I got hold of some Saint Bernard and it's very nice and grows back too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
atxdiscgolfer 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2015 Drooling over all this material I don't have Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Piker20 0 Report post Posted February 9, 2015 How stiff is the wild pig hair? Like boar bristles or softer? Don't suppose you export??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites