Or can you get away with a quick shave off one at Seaworld? (I did manage to get three handfulls of emu feathers at the wildlife park at Christmas before the kids brought me down in a rugby tackle)
Every nymph pattern I look at has seals fur in it, not seal fur substitute, but the real thing. Do you yankees still clamber over the ice to club these little critters to death and flog off the fluff? I can’t seem to find any of it, and you get jail here for popping them off the rocks with a rifle.
What does everbody use when the recipe calls for seal fur dubbing? Is SLF and home made mixtures as good as the real thing?
My wife said I can keep one in the bath tub, but she gave up on me long ago. Maybe there is an alternative though? (I hear they can bite… )
Yes, Gringo … seals have big teeth and they do bite. I wouldn’t want to share a bath with one! <just personal preference mind you!!> Plus, they have REALLY bad breath!!
Arizona Flyfishing, 31 W. Baseline. Tempe, Arizona 85238 has a product called Simi Seal, available in 33 different colors. Super stuff! Wish I’d known you wanted some last week!!<there was room in your box!!> Let me see if I can find their web site.
Betty
OK … web site doesn’t have pictures of it (go figure!) But it is really great stuff! Any of the materials I’ve used from these guys has been great! www.azflyfishing.com May have to just stick a pack in a regular envelope and send it out.
Hey Rainbowchaser thanks for that one - I know Uncle Barry there but never thought to ask him. He is a spey casting and lingere guru in these parts… yeah the two go together somehow…
Eric I’m sorry I have no way of sharing the moment with you, but I do have a pic somewhere of this emu lying prostrate on the ground with its head stretched out, its way of saying it did not like me. I’ll try to find it. I also tried to get some kangaroo too but I couldn’t hop fast enough… I love wildlife parks!
Wildlife parks, petting zoos, etc, are where I find many of my exotic materials. Staff only THINKS I’m being friendly when I’m patting all the animals <they’ve never looked in my pockets afterwards!>
If you had a seals diet, would you have a nice, sweet, pleasant breath? Stand within 15 feet of the seal swimming pool … you’ll see what I mean!!
You can buy seal’s fur, in all sorts of colours, here in New Zealand. I would be surprised if you can’t buy it in a fly shop in Australia? Check with your local shop and see if they can order some for you.
I use Angora Goat dubbing as a substitute…Never tried real seal, But I like the Angora goat a lot.
There is a place online somewhere that sells real seals fur dubbing, I heard about it in a podcast, Don’t know the site, They didn’t tell. They said something about they got a bunch of russian coats and took the stuffing out of them, Which happened to be seals fur, Now they are selling it cheap online in many colors. Wish they would have mentioned the name of the site in that podcast!
Maybe google will be your friend and find the site for you!
Here’s another source … Feather Craft in St. Louis, MO. Less expensive and easier to obtain than the Arizona supplier, although only 20 colors instead of 33!! Oh, bother!!
F-C REAL SEAL
Part #: TM033 $1.25
F-C REAL SEAL A blend of my genuine harp, harbor seal and a bit of arctic ram for binder. Use Real-Seal for the fly body, thorax, or collars and note that I still have TUPS-PINK. All a favorite for salmon/steelhead fly tyers, including full-dress. Makes a beautiful “Leech” pattern using a dubbing-loop tool (pictured). COLORS: (1)Kingfisher-Blue, (2)Highlander-Green, (3)Fiery-Brown, (4)Red, (5)Black, (6)Ginger, (7)Olive, (8)Lt-Olive, (9)Hot-Orange, (10)Tups-Pink(gorgeous), (11)Dun-Grey, (12)Dk-Claret, (13)Fl-Pink, (14)Fl-Red, (15)Fl-Yellow, (16)Fl-Chartreuse, (17)Lt-Blue, (18)Dk-Blue, (19)Magenta, (20)Yellow $1.25/PAK OR Any 6-PAKS $6
How funny!! I just noticed, when I put everything in the original post, 8’s looked like 8’s, but in the submitted form the 8’s looked like smilies with sunglasses!
I realize that it’s fun to collect materials…the quest for the ‘perfect’ thing is part of the fun…I hae no particular love for seals…
That being said, the fish won’t know the difference between ‘real’ seal and any of the substitutes. The flies will be just as effective. (I know all the hype about the ‘translucence’ of seal…fish don’t care…)
My guess is a good time was had by all.
