dog fur!

[G-man]

I throw his blanket in the dryer and the lint,fur and hair make up the body of My pit bull caddis
G

[ashbourn]

I just got some amazing Dun with a hint of blue from Ralph Grave's cat. Dogs with short course fur makes good wulffs

Joe Fox

[easttenntroutin]

Cat dubbing is better than anything. I use it for all my nymphs. holds true color in water.

[mantis]

Years ago I would save shed whiskers from my dog and cat as they made beautiful May fly tails. Then I started cutting them off the pets as they did not pull easily. After a while my dog looked like Gabby Hayes and the cat looked like Willie Nelson. Now we have a couple of Rag Doll cats...Cost more each than a new high end vise and my wife has laid down the law...

[This message has been edited by mantis (edited 14 October 2005).]

[ilmbaba]

When Mikeytwoshoes started his Adams swap, I seriously considered entering with the Gus Adams (Gus being the name of our Miniature Schnauzer). I tied up a few just the other day. My better half came up with the idea of grabbing some fur from all the hunting dogs coming for Pheasant season and making a Christmas Gift selection of Doggie Flies for the family fisher-men.
The only materials limit is your imagination.

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Elliott W.

I tie flies to give the fish something to laugh about.

[grampaflyfish]

When I was a young feller my folks had an airdale whose fur made some pretty effective nymphs. Cream colored underfur from my daughter's german shepard makes great Cahills.

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Dick

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Time spent FLY fishing is not deducted from one's life

.........................

You learn something new every single day of your life. If you don't, you weren't paying attention.

[EdD]

Mantis, as a lad I clipped some whiskers on one of the family cats and discovered that it can really mess them up. Later on I read the the pattern of whiskers on a cat's face not only acts a urb feelers in the dark, they also pick up certain frequencies of vibrations and help that animals to fix location of mice etc...
It really isn't very nice to cats to snip off their whiskers, IMHO. That said, I have my sister's _NINE_ cats, post Katrina, and her little dog too (Sheltie). I'm wielding the brush regularly and getting a great supply of dubbing. Three of the cats are black and the Siamese has a lovely shade of dun...
I have been forbidden the use of scissors on the sheltie. Curses, foild again.

[mantis]

Ed, I've always had indoor cats...and dogs. My older Rag Doll's whiskers curl forward so much she looks like Wilfred Brimley. The younger ones whiskers stick out way beyond her body. We got these two from a cattery that we had bought Rag Dolls from B4 and she was going out of business for age and health reasons and getting rid of the majority of them.They were 2 and 6 years old when we got them last year. When we brought them in our home for the first time they ran and hid for several days which is common with older cats. They may have come out at night to eat but we would rarely see them durring the day. They worked themselves behind and under dressers and chairs that I never would have believed they could fit thru...way smaller than the width of their whiskers exposing the old wives tale that they use their whiskers to determine if they will fit through something.
Having had a Sheltie I'm surprised you would have to clip...they shed so much all you really need is a broom...No amount of brushing would cut down the shedding and a trip to the groomer every month only lasted a day or so . We lost her this summer at age 12. Best dog we ever had. There was a famous fly once called the 'Collie Dog' tied by a man over in Scotland. Using pets fur has been going on for a long time. Take care Ed, keep on tying.

[Betty Hiner]

I've always "borrowed" hair from the family pet. Shami flies are still my favorite .. she was an australian shepherd. Have tied from a friends newfoundland, our sons horses, and look forward to his newest additions ... a pot bellied pig (named Bacon) and two llamas (Lefty and Poncho). Also used buffalo when available. The petting zoo watches me very closely as I visit the animals. They've seen me in action!

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Trouts don't live in ugly places




[This message has been edited by Betty Hiner (edited 15 October 2005).]

[Ray Kunz]

Noting that a couple of you guys talk about Shelties and Collies I also see the emphasis on dubbing. That's great but the long white hair from our old Sheltie's chest was "trimmed" frequently to make the best little streamers. It's quite soft and very straight. Gee, I wish this forum had Spellcheck !