Can squirrel body hair be used in place of a hairs mask for such flies as a gold ribbed hair’s ear nymph or in place of a hares mask in general.
Also, on this weeks show of the tying bench on PBS he had some type of ceramic rake used to scrape hair off of a hares mask. He said some guy in england makes them. Has anyone heard of it or knows where i can purchase one?
Thanks alot,
-Zac
The way to a flyfisherman’s heart is through his fly
Yes, you can use the squirrel hair just fine. I just use the coffee grinder method to blend my dubbing.
I agree with millerwb. I use squirrel body hair mixed with different colors of Aunt Lydia’s type rug yarn to make some terrific dubbing. I like it better than regualr hare’s ear and the fish don’t seem to mind a bit that I’ve changed the pattern.
Jim Smith
That’s called a dubbing rake and think LAW makes them, but don’t hold me to that. They aren’t really neccessary. Squirrel guard hairs can easily be separated from underfur once clipped from the skin.