Tying with wool and sources

[Micropteris]

I have got spinning and packing deer hair down pretty well. I would like to tie some of those deer hair patterns with wool to fish them down deep. What is a good cheap source of wool to use, grad student budget, and where is an easy place to find it; craft store, Wal-mart, etc. Finally I think that it ties the same way as deer hair, are there any changes that I will need to make? Thanks for your input.

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

Micro,

By 'wool' do you mean the pure natural stuff, a blend or some type of synthetic? Some stores that sell these products are WalMart, JoAnne Fabrics, Michaels' Craft Store, MJ Designs and others. Some skeins come in multicolors. You just have to cut up into sections. There's Aunt Lydia's Rug Yarn (synthetic) that costs less than $1.00 per skein. You can buy several colors and blend into additional colors. Good for nymphs and salmon flies but not good for dries. There are some yarns that have very fine fibers. You can literally draw some off the skein and apply directly to the tying thread. These can be used for dries as well as wets and nymphs.
Hope this helps but you'll probably have to go to some of those stores and see what yarns have the properties you are looking for.

Allan

[phatkid248]

i think micro is talking about pure wool. for some bass and sculpin patterns, it is spun on the hook shank like deer hair.

[Micropteris]

I think that it is the pure wool that they use for all the deep patterns. The flies that I am thinking about are all the big bass type flies that were originally tied using clipped deer hair heads so they would float, like Nix sunfish pattern. There are wool headed versions of most of those flies, I am just unsure of what type of wool that they use and where I can get a hold of it for cheap. I don't see it at the fly shops that I go to and would prefer to get it in bulk somewhere else because I tie and lose a lot of those flies. Thanks

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Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick

[RS Jones]

Hi Micropteris!
Most fly shops sell a product called "Sculpin Wool". I'm not sure if it is 100% wool or if it matters. You can buy 100% virgin wool in several colors from a store that specializes in yarns and such. In my search for wool, I found that the stores like Walmart, Joann's, Target, Kmart and most of the craft stores do not have 100% virgin wool. I was looking for wool for some old European patterns. I guesss in answer to your question, the sculpin wool product is probably what you are looking for. On another note, I was watching Scott Sanchez demonstrate some tying techniques a couple weeks ago where he was tying on clumps of wool/yarn around the hook shank and, trimming top and bottom to give a wide, flat profile, similiar to a sculpin. It was a neat idea and looked good. You can mix-n-match different colors (i.e; brown, tan, olive and etc.) to get a mottled effect. Anyway, I would look for the "Sculpin Wool". My local Sportsman's Warehouse has it as well as a few of the fly shops. Hope this helps.
Bob

[Gardenfish]

maybe ? [url=http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/Fibers.htm:032b6]http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/Fibers.htm[/url:032b6]

[Tup]

I can hook you up with as much raw wool as you could use in ten lifetimes. E-mail if you're interested. No charge. I have a ton. Literally.

[millerwb]

So I have this bag of raw wool? What do I do it now? Do I wash it first? And then how do you sipn it? Do you do it just like deer hair?

Thanks

[flyfisherjoe]

Most craft stores sell pure mohair in the doll making section. Usually have natural blond, which can be dyed, and brown. A large bag is only a couple of bucks.

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Joe

[Philly]

Spinning wool is a bit different from spinning deer hair. One thing it won't flare like deer hair. Two ways to approach it. One is to put a clump of wool on the top of the shank and one on the bottom, make a couple of loose wraps and then tighten. The wool should spin on the shank but won't flare you can tease it with your fingers as you're tightening the thread, or wait till the you've filled the shank then tease it out before you start to trim. Second way, and this is the one I use is to slide a clump of wool/fleece down the hook shank and make the wraps to tightend the wool, then you bring the thread in front of the wool and push it back. The first clump you tie in you trim the front even leaving the back tapered, the rest of the clumps are trimmed even front and back. Like deer hair you keep packing it on the shank. Once its packed you trim it to shape with scissors. You won't be able to use a razor.