All about the Hair!

The fish won't really notice, but I do and I like this hair!

Sometimes true: "The fly catches the fisherman......not the fish"

This is not about the pattern or this tie. It is about the hair. I am really enjoying a recent shipment of very nice Cow Elk hair. The hair is fun to tie with and has dark tips which appeal to me, at least.
Good materials, like good tools, make tying very enjoyable......in my opinion, anyway.

Pictures don't due the hair justice.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psol7fqbxh.jpg


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psyv4kanp1.jpg

I agree...materials make all the difference.

Chris Helm (God rest his soul) gave our group a presentation some time ago. Among other materials, he spent quite a bit of time discussing different hair types for specific fly applications. The deer hair he sold for caddis wings, for example, was different from that used on compara/sparkle duns. Learned a lot from him.

Chuck

Byron nice fly but I prefer well marked x-caddis deerhair.

Gene,
I have always used X-Caddis deer hair in the past. Bucky McCormick of BRF suggested this cow elk hair as I wanted to have hair in my caddis patterns which flared less.
Anyway, I sure like the hair he sent.

A size 16 egg laying CDC&Elk, but using cow elk hair instead of Hans' pattern using deer hair.

http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...psjar2thdl.jpg

Today, I got some more hair. This is my smokey dun colored Sparkle Deer hair I'm using for these size 12 Green Drakes. Again, some great hair, I think.


http://i1101.photobucket.com/albums/...ps6zy2chkz.jpg

[QUOTE=Byron haugh;519728]Today, I got some more hair. This is my smokey dun colored Sparkle Deer hair I'm using for these size 12 Green Drakes. Again, some great hair, I think.


Beeeutiful pic. Lord Byron.... ;)

Jeremy. (no, really...a super shot!!)

Hey Chuck, not to high jack this thread but you are sounding as though Chris Helm has passed away. I know he sold his White Tail flytying supplies biz but I am not/was not aware of anything like his being ill or having died. Please inform me.
Back to the hair issue, one thing I learned from Chris is that the quality of the hair often depends on the time of year that the whitetail or mule deer/elk /carabou is harvested and the gender of the critter are all factors in how good the hair is and for what purpose the hair is used.
GERRI

Chris Helm died Thanksgiving 2014.