Deer hair for muddlers

[dfly]

When tying the deer hair "skirt" for a small
Muddler or Hopper pattern the length of the skirt or hackle is very short and the deer hair I have will barely flare that high up on the hair. Can someone suggest an alternate hair or does it just come down to looking at different packages of deer hair to find the right stuff? Thanks

[billknepp]

You can lengthen your collar a bit...but yeah, It does pay to select hair according to the uses you intend for it...Buying Deer Hair is a time consuming thing for me...but well worth the time spent when I sit down at the bench!

[Yaffle]

I had the same problem a number of years ago and this is the soluion I came up with.
For the colar use fine Deer hair or fine Elk, Elk Hock will work good for this. Insted of worrying about the but ends flaring just make sure you get the right flare that you desire on the tips.
After triming the but ends on a tapered angle bury the ends with your thread, there will be less bulk depending on how thick you want the colar to be, this is fine hair, but it is still deer hair. Use your good spinning hair to complete he head. You can have fun and mess around with different colour combinations this way.
These pictures are of Marabou streamers I tied this way, not a muddler Minnow but you get the idea: [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/Yaffle/MuddlerHeadMaribouStreamerOrange.jpg:227d8]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/Yaffle/MuddlerHeadMaribouStreamerOrange.jpg[/url:227d8] [url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/Yaffle/MuddlerHeadMariboustreamerBrandBl.jpg:227d8]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v307/Yaffle/MuddlerHeadMariboustreamerBrandBl.jpg[/url:227d8]

These flies are tied small.
-Yaf

[Al Beatty]

Hi dfly,

The best hair for muddler head/collars is located on the rib and belly of the harvested animal. That color of hair tends to be light gray all the way through the hair fiber. If your hair has any darker gray in it you won't find it very good for spinning but is great for wings/tails on Humpies or Wulffs. Take care & ...

Tight Lines - Al Beatty [url=http://www.btsflyfishing.com:a14a8]www.btsflyfishing.com[/url:a14a8]

[fisher998]

Hi,
I only started to tie flies a year ago but i find that caridou works best for me. Of corse i am from Newfoundland and can esaily get caribou as i have a father and many friends father who hunt.

fisher998