Hare's Ear/Mask And Dubbing Questions

[Jeff Clough]

Continuing my effort to demystify a few things as I learn about tying, I've discovered I'm not quite confident in my knowledge of hares' masks.

In the various books and online sources I've seen, reference is made to "guard hairs". I interpret this phrase to mean the long, spiky hairs that extend past the underfur of the critter. Is this right?

Next, I see a bunch of patterns that instruct you to take hair from specific parts of the mask, such as the ears, face and area of the head between the ears. Are the characteristics of the hair/fur that different between these areas? I haven't man-handled the mask I was gifted yet, but a quick visual inspection doesn't give me any obvious clues.

Another question is how much of a color difference is there between masks naturally? I've only been exposed to one thus far (the aforementioned gift) and am weighing the benefits of picking up a couple others. A lot of color variation would make that decision a no-brainer.

Still another question is how many flies might one reasonably expect to tie with a single mask?

And lastly, does anyone care to share their natural fur dubbing wisdom? My only dubbing experience at this time has been with using a synthetic dry fly dubbing. From what I can see, fur and hair are a different animal.

Thanks again for any guidance that comes in!

[Buddy Sanders]

Jeff,

It all really depends on how deeply you want to get into all this.

Different areas of the hare's mask will have slightly different characteristics. The guard hairs on the ear portion should be a bit longer and there should be more of them, things like that.

I played with harvesting dubbing from these creepy little bunny faces for a while....as far as the resulting fly was concerend, I could not see appreciable differences between the different locations the fur was harvested from on the mask.

There are as many different colors of hares masks as there have been hares. And, we have also chosen to die them into several dozens of colors too. If you really want to acquire a wide selection of natural colors, you can buy lots of them. In my experience, the fish aren't that picky about color. Especially when you are just talking about a slightly different shade.

I've always found that natrual furs that are suitable for dubbing dub easier than synthetics. You should get lots of flies from one mask, but that depends on the size of your flies and the efficiency of your technique. Cutting the fur off the mask and preparing it for use require some practice and skill.

All of the previous being written, though, I've given up on cutting fur from the bunny faces myself. First, they seriously creep me out. Second, you can buy packaged blended hares ear dubbing (I'm pretty sure that it is made from fur from the whole mask but it could be just ear fur). This stuff has the proper amount of guard hairs in it, dubs easily, will tie hundeds of flies, and comes in a wide range of consistent colors. All the work is already done. It's not expensive. Every fly shop handles it. I'm lazy, and since a bag of ready to go dubbing costs about the same as, or even a bit less than, a hare's mask, it's a no brainer for me.

You'll have to decide for yourself if it matters to the finished fly, or to the fish, if you make your own dubbing or buy it ready to go.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Jeff Clough]

J...creepy little bunny faces...

Yeah, the one I have is definitely the creepiest thing in my house. I was half expecting a warning label on the package that read "Be sure your hare's mask is locked securely in it's restraints each night."

In all seriousness though, I have been looking at the pre-made blends a bit (an have a selection of natural fur, pre-blended dubbing from other critters on the way), but I keep hearing all of these old timers talking about making your own becoming a lost art and it makes me sad.

[Bakerloo]

Yeah, the one I have is definitely the creepiest thing in my house. I was half expecting a warning label on the package that read "Be sure your hare's mask is locked securely in it's restraints each night."

Last year my 1st grade daughter and I were in a shop. I bought a mask for both of us. She took hers to school (a small Christian school) to show her teacher. I made my wife call the teacher and explain that we weren't doing animal sacrifices at home.

[ggh]

Hi Buddy,
Re, Hare's mask dubbing:
Like you, I don't won't to hassle with cutting, mixing, etc., but I have read that some of the pre-packaged stuff is not so good. What brand(s) of this kind of dubbing have you used?
I would appreciate any information you can supply.
Thanks,
George

[aged_sage]

I will take a stab at answering your questions in order.

Yes, the guard hairs are the long spiky hairs that protrude above the underfur.

There are subtle differences in color, texture and length of the hair from the various parts of the mask. Hence, the references to using hair from the various parts of the mask.

Perhaps the best solution for this one is for you to visit a shop and compare as many "natural" masks as they have in stock. You and I may not see the same mask the same way. One would expect some variation, but not much. I would not expect to find enough to warrant haveing more than one mask on hand as a tier.

Your next question cannot be answered as asked, simply because you do not mention what pattern(s) and what hook size(s) you intend to tie on, or how sparsely or heavily they will be dubbed. I think it is safe to say that you can expect to get in excess of 100 flies per mask; and I have intentionally been conservative with this number.

Your last question is again one that can readily be addressed. The first paradigm of dubbing is that "LESS IS MORE"! My experience for this is based on my having been involved up to my eyeballs the past ten years with teachong in excess of 220 students, from 8 to 70+, both men and women, to tie. Beginners, myself included back when, invariably try to put too much dubbing on their thread. It won't work! You cannot keep a large mass as tightly spun on the thread as you can a small amout, and a small amount is crucial to getting a nice tapered body. You can always wrap a second dubbed layer over the first if the body is not as "fat" as you would like to have it. Another way of saying it is that it is easier to put it on in small bunches than it is to take of in small bunches if the body doesn't turn out to your satisfaction. "How much is the right amount" will come with time and practice.

Some natural hairs are much easier to work with than others. Seal and calf tail (kip) are notoriously difficult. Pronghorn antelope is a real paradox. It spins and stacks very easily, but it is so brittle as to be almost useless in my books. It has to be handled with kid gloves, which is NOT my forte. Moose, elk, caribou, whitetail, Coastal and mule deer are all easy to work with (SAVE the underfur as it makes GREAT dubbing). Rabbit, beaver, muskrat, and mink all are also easy to work with. Mink guard hair makes great dry fly tails. This list could go on and on, but these are the commonly used furs. There some unique and interesting uses for the fur and hair of many other animals, but they are not commonly used today.

I hope this helps get you started. You probably be inundated with responses to your questions. Learn from all of them.

Cheers,
Frank

[planettrout]

Jeff,

If there is an opportunity, check out this book. Allen has information and photos on the sections of a hare's mask that have different characteristics and colors...very helpful along with a fur rake...My son's GF is a "Bunny Freak". The first time she saw one of my masks, she flipped out...

http://www.flyfishohio.com/Soft%20Hackle%20Nymphs.htm

PT/TB

[dryfly2010]

i will only comment on the dubbing portion of this. i learned from the very start to mix my own dubbing. The process i learned was: 1. cut off a chunk. 2. remove as many guard fibres as necessary, depending on how buggy u want ur fly. ex, wet flies like nymphs need more than an adams dry fly. 3. chop up thins chunk by cutting up the hair in thirds. and 4. mix with fingers until the desired color, density, and mixture is obtained. IT IS OK TO ADD FUR FROM OTHER PARTS TO CHANGE THE COLOR!! 5. dub sparingly. The winter 2007 issue of Fly Tyer had an excellent article on dubbing methods. Less material over a 4 inches is better than more material in an inch. u can control shape easier, and when u wrap, it blends together into a nice shape, rather than obvious wraps. (sidenote: this issue also has an awesome article on Stimulators that is def worth reading)

Jordan

[aged_sage]

If you happen to have one of the little coffee bean grinders, just dump everything in it and hit the "GO" button 3 or 4 times and you will have perfectly mixed dubbing. JUST BER SURE TO THOROUGHLY CLEAN IT AFTERWARDS. FUZZY COFFE DOES NOT GO OVER VERY WELL!

[gmac209]

If you happen to have one of the little coffee bean grinders, just dump everything in it and hit the "GO" button 3 or 4 times and you will have perfectly mixed dubbing. JUST BER SURE TO THOROUGHLY CLEAN IT AFTERWARDS. FUZZY COFFE DOES NOT GO OVER VERY WELL!

I second that - in fact to assure marital bliss it is best to get one dedicated just to dubbing.