My mom raises sheep and uses the wool on her antique spinning wheel. She also dyes the wool using either natural or man-made dyes, including Kool-Aid. She literally has hundreds of colors of wool.

I use the wool on most all my flies and if you go sparingly they don't tend to sink as rapidly. The best way to wrap a body on a dry is to flatten the wool as you wrap, letting it spread out wide and thin (like floss). This method will keep the waterlooging to a minimum. Also, if you wrap it a bit tight it will help shed the water.

If you have to tie a thick body then you're better off using the thread to build up the bulk and then overwrap with the thinned wool, or use poly yarn as an underbody, then overwrap with the wool.

Wool is best for wets, streamers, and nymphs. One of my favorite bluegill patterns is a woolly worm using blue/gray wool body and a furnace or brown hackle palmered. Make the body any thickness you like, one variation includes a reverse-palmered, gold, wire or tinsel rib.

Try it! You'll feel great and the gills will love you for it. You may even spend the afternoon with a bass or two.

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