Dry fly tails

[DonO1]

My vote- Whiting CDL tailig Packs http://www.bearsden.com/page610.html Many places to get it, this was the 1st shop on Google search. One pack will tie a ton of dry fly tails. Also, if you can afford it, invest in a CLD rooster saddle. Look up the color shades and order the color you want- same for the tailing packs. They do dye them. Check stocks at different shops. I got tailing clumps in orange and brown when I visited the farm last. If you don't need a whole pack, split with someone or each buy a color.

[Greg H]

No one has mentioned false eyelashes. Some are even 'clumped' in groups of three fibers. They curve like real mayflies and come in various lengths. While you're there buy some sparkle nail polish for interesting head cement on streamers - and don't forget the Sally Hansen's.

[hap]

These days I usually buy full skins when buying hackle. From "chickabou" to spades, schlappen to aftershafts there are so many useful feathers that usually just get wasted and I do not understand it... Just the breast feathers to use for wings save a ton of hen hackles... I have a big stack of Denny's full skins and lots of spade options for color.

There is no real substitute for good spade hackles. Moose mane is too coarse for all but the largest flies. Various brushes and such make reasonable tails but they are pricey and limited in color. Give me a nice stack of Denny's full skins or at least a bunch of saddles or capes with the central spades left on... Took a look the other day because I needed a photo background and was a little surprised at the number of color options there are in my hackle bins. If I had any decency I would likely be embarassed... Yeah, right! as my son says... :0

[herefishy]

I have quite a few CDL clumps and use a small bunch for nymphs, and a smaller bunch for dries, but what about just single fibers? Are these better for dries, or would a small bunch suffice? They're kind of hard to separate out. Also, how important is color? I have just the dark mottled ones and use these for everything.

[Gandolf]

Hi Ray,

I mostly tie Wulff type dries, when I tie mayfly dries, and so use primarily animal hair for tailing. Lee Wulff, in his book "Lee Wulff on Flies," stated that in his early years he experimented with tailing because the Catskill patterns tended to not float very well in quick water. He found that animal hair floated the dries much better than spade hackle fibers, so hair became the tailing for his Wulff series of dries.

I have used calf tail, calf body fur, buck tail, deer body fur, and moose for tailing. The calf tail works well, but is a bit of a pain to tie with because it is so curly. However, calf tails are not all created equal, and some have straighter hair than others.

I do think one of the above posters is correct, in that calf, moose, deer hair, and buck tail get to be a problem with the smallest flies. I have tied #18s with such, but it is a bit of a pain. Most of my dries are #16 and larger, and the fur is not too much of a problem for those sizes.

For deer hair, the hair from the center of the back of whitetail bucks seems to be the best for wings and tailing, as it is not as hollow as hair from the sides of the deer. It has far less tendency to flair.

That said, every now and then I do tie Catskill patterns, and to me the look of the Catskill dries just exudes class, so I love the look of them and enjoy tying them. For those, I have some old Keough capes and saddles that have excellent tailing on them, and also have a couple of Denny's 1/2 capes, so am in fairly good shape of that kind of tailing.

Regards,

Gandolf

[oldster]

Also, and not mentioned are guard hairs from mink tails. They make great, stiff tails and are usually available in several colors. They also furnish some excellent dubbing. My choice for wulff flies is deer hock hair.

[Ray Kunz]

Thanks to all you guys. Gandolf and I are on the exact same wavelength and I would ask Oldster, who I would address as "young man" because he is seven years younger than me, if he knows of a retail source for mink tails that I mentioned in my original post. I've been using the last of the ones I purchased from Eric Leiser years ago when he had a material shop.

[pittendrigh]

One interesting twist on this discussion is to make the tail material the hackle fibers too, all to once'et.
The Pott Licker uses red Fox Squirrel for the tail. Those fibers get wound onto the shank, all the way up to
the hackle position. Then I use a straw to push the tag ends of the tail fibers back, and then wind some
wraps and dubbing up front, which forces the tag ends to stay at right angles to the shank. The tail is also the hackle.

Quick cheap and easy to tie. Durable. Floats well too. Never gets bedraggled. Can't beat that.

[herefishy]

Very innteresting!

[RonT]

Pittendrigh, Would you consider posting step by step pics for the Pot Licker?
R