Snowshoe Hare Question

[Joe Billingsley]

I have read several different opinions using snowshoe hare's feet for wings. Some say to use the hair between the toes, others say to use the hair on the heel. Some say to use the coarse guard hair and others say to use the fine, "light and fuzzy" underfur. Which do you use for wings?

Joe

[narcodog]

You need to split the toes and use the hair between them. That is the water resistant hair. The whole bottom of the foot is good to use not the top.

[Joe Billingsley]

An article on tying tips in American Angler - that had a couple of editing mistakes (stated one thing in the text a couple of times and the opposite under the pictures) - got me thinking about what I had always done when using snowshoe hare's fur for wings and if others used it the same way I have or the way the article says to use it. I guess I have two questions:
1.) Do you think the best part of the foot to use is between the toes, or the heel, or are both are equally good?
2.) Do you use the coarse guard hairs or the "light and fuzzy" underfur?

[planettrout]

In their book:

http://www.amazon.com/Tying-Emergers.../dp/1571883061

Schollmeyer and Leeson break down the foot into three regions (ppgs. 28 -29). Region 3 - "...from the middle of the foot to the heel is the prime stuff. It is fine, soft crinkly, densely packed on the skin and nicely translucent. Ordinarily, contains few, if any,'underfur' type hairs and most of the fur here grows to quite nearly a uniform length..."

Split the foot for better access.

PT/TB

[hap]

IIRC Dave Hughes, in his huge trout fly book, says the fur between the toes is best... I will have to check that out...

I think I like the stuff between the toes better.

There is also the very real possibility hares from different areas have different fur and all have different fur at different times of the year...

[lastchance]

IIRC Dave Hughes, in his huge trout fly book, says the fur between the toes is best... I will have to check that out...

I think I like the stuff between the toes better.

There is also the very real possibility hares from different areas have different fur and all have different fur at different times of the year...

What do you mean "fur between the toes"? I don't understand. I tie midges down to size 30 and I use the soft underfur for the wing. I use the fur from the middle of the foot to the heel. I never knew there was fur between the toes. You won't get many flies tied if you only used the stuff between the toes. For larger flies I used the fur with some of the finer guard hairs or whatever they're called. There's something I'm not understanding. Please enlighten me. Thanks, All.

[whatfly]

In their book:

http://www.amazon.com/Tying-Emergers.../dp/1571883061

Schollmeyer and Leeson break down the foot into three regions (ppgs. 28 -29). Region 3 - "...from the middle of the foot to the heel is the prime stuff. It is fine, soft crinkly, densely packed on the skin and nicely translucent. Ordinarily, contains few, if any,'underfur' type hairs and most of the fur here grows to quite nearly a uniform length..."

Split the foot for better access.

PT/TB

Pardon the pseudo-thread hijack, but what is the most efficient way to split a foot? Hadn't thought of this before, but the advantages are obvious.

Thanks!

[hap]

Efficiency is not the question...

Keeping from cutting your thumb off is the trick. I put them in a wood vise, toes-up, and split them with a very sharp butcher knife... The mass of the knife makes it very easy. I leave the two halves attached to each other.

[narcodog]

I use a heavy knife. A knife will lessen the damage to the hair.