Normand posted a site, that has probably one of the most comprehensive posts about dubbing you will find. There is another exhaustive review by Mike Connor about dubbing but I don't feel at liberty to post it without his permission. He was kind enough to send me his complete web site. I will attempt to get in touch with him and get his blessings.
Steve
Normand, appreciate the information and the site. I have to agree that most folks tend to over dub. I use a full range of dubbing materials and techniques, but I must admit that the super fine is easy to work and a good choice for a genral purpose dubbing. However, I much prefer the naturals since that's where I started many years ago. Thanks for your thread.Originally Posted by Normand
God Bless America
I have a sample from someone and had to figure out what they used. He wouldn't get into specifics about it. That's how I found out beaver works. I can send you a sample and you can blend to match the color. I use a coffee grinder I got for 10.00 to blend the batches. Let me know.
TB
Troutbum -
I'll PM ya - Thanks.
Take Care ...
Steve
\><((((((*>
Unless you're going to get all crazy about using natural materials, go with Super Fine.
Remember, when dubbing dries, not to use too much. Think of yourself as "painting" the thread.
Hi Raiderhunter,
I am going to be in the minority, but I like natural dubbing. What you want for drys is natural under fur. Rabbit is great.
What you want however, is Dry Fly dubbing.
Often the rabbit dubbing you buy has a lot of guard hair in it. You want dubbing that has virtually NO guard hair in it for drys. I think muskrat is also great, and other natural furs as well. Rabbit or muskrat, etc. which has a lot of guard hair is very difficult to dub and get a smooth body, and is just plain harder to dub than fur or some synthetics that have almost no coarse material present. I think that is why so many above don't like rabbit, as the vast majority of rabbit dubbing you find has loads of guard hair in it.
The guard hair is stiff, and makes for spikey buggy dubbing which is ideal for most nymphs, but terrible for drys. I make much of my own dry fly dubbing, carefully pulling out the guard hair when I make it. The good commercial dry fly stuff is sometimes made from rabbit fur that is from special types of rabbits that have no guard hair.
Good dry fly rabbit (i.e.: no guard hair) dubs very easily, and is easy to use to make tapered bodies. When treated with dry fly floatant, the flys float very well. I think they float better than those made from synthetic dubbing, because the floatant sticks to the natural dubbing better than to syntetics, at least in my experience.
You DON'T want dubbing that is described as "buggy" or something similar, because it is loaded with guard hair. You want dubbing that is described as "dry fly", etc.
Regards,
Gandolf
It's hard to argue against Superfine for dries as a general dubbing. Sometimes you might was a bit more sparkle (Hare-tron) or coarser bugginess (some natural dubbing e.g. squirrel), but Superfine is easy to use, repels water reasonably well (nice or tying dries), and is available in refillable dispensers with several colors for a variety of patterns.
Ed
or tie rat faced mcdougal and forget the dubbin
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...122099fotw.php
"There's more B.S. in fly fishing than there is in a Kansas feedlot." Lefty Kreh
I can't say about fly fishing but there's a lot of feed lots in Kansas.
Wes' Pattern Book
http://www.flypatternbook.net
Gandolf,
I could not agree more. There are a few colors of superfine I like, but I find furs dub better. Dyed Beaver is great for dries and rabbit can be good to if you get a blend with the guard hairs picked out or if it is angora rabbit. Remember no matter the material you are adding floatant to it, that is all the water proofing it needs.
Joe Fox
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