Anyone use icelandic sheep hair? If so, does it soak up water and get heavy like rabbit? I’d like to know before i buy some. Also, does it shed water on backcasts like synthetics?
I use Icelandic Sheep Hair extensively for my larger streamer patterns, especially in all black. It’s easy to tie with and I can’t see where it soaks up any water at all. Eight inch streamers are easy to cast on my 7wt. Great stuff with lots of movement in the water.
On the other hand, flies tied with long zonker strips of rabbit fur cast like a wet sock and I don’t enjoy fishing them at all. Just my humble opinion.
Jim Smith
I guess I’ll go ahead and get some to tie some big muskie flies.
I use both but prefer to use Big Fly Fiber on my muskie flies. Not terribly too much difference though, imho.
I’d pick up some of each and try it yourself. The B.F.F. goes on my topwater Mega-Divers and the I.S. Hair goes on my streamers.
http://www.greencaddis.com/product_info.php?cPath=27&products_id=330&osCsid=e6bd1a142fe34c717e1a1b
Have fun with both. Good stuff.
Jeremy.
I have some of the big divers tied with the big fly fiber, I just have yet to get out and try them. I have them in Black and white on 4/0 hooks.
I use it tying shad patterns and it casts easy and doesn’t soak up much water and it sheds it well.
Splayed-A-Live Pike pattern dubbed with Icelandic Sheep wool from Jim. Pattern calls for a “coarse dubbing”. The sheep hair is perfect. I usually keep my prototypes but, I think I’ll have to fish this next month.
Hook: Mustad C52SBLN 2/0
Thread: Yellow
Tail: Yellow bucktail
Tail two sets of paired streamer feathers
Body: Icelandic Sheep Dubbing
Hackle: Yellow strung hackle (Indian)
Throax or in front of hackle: Icelandic Sheep Dubbing
Head: Thread with Sally Hansen’s
Hook: Mustad C52SBLN 2/0
Thread: Yellow
Tail: Yellow bucktail
Tail two sets of paired streamer feathers
Body: Icelandic Sheep Dubbing
Hackle: Yellow strung hackle (Indian)
Throax or in front of hackle: Icelandic Sheep Dubbing
Head: Thread with Sally Hansen’s
Icelandic Sheep Hair is a wonderful material…long, light and moves wonderfully through the water. Light and easy to cast and recast, unlike the “Klunk” made when recasting barred bunny. It is the only dyed material that I carry on my site.
Love the stuff! Looks great in the water. Like everyone else said, sheds water well.
The first streamers I tyed with the stuff were olive. The looked and floated exactly like the local algae, when dead drifted. No joy there. I had to change colors for streamers.
Ed
I just want to point out the material jkilroy is asking about is a dubbing material. It is not the long strands you might use for a streamer or for an ice minnow. It does appear to work quite well as a course dubbing similar to rabbit with the guard hairs left in. The material is cut short.
Thanks.
His photo says it was a Streamer…am I wrong…again?
In both pictures the flies are streamers. However, the material jkilroy is discussing is a dubbing material not the longer strands of Icelandic sheeps wool used to make the “hair” streamers.
I bought a range of I.S. some time ago because of fiber length. It is great, but I find that Congo Hair is a very acceptable alternate at a much lower cost. In my opinion Congo Hair is almost indistinguishable from E.P.fibers. I’ve even chopped it up to make nice spikey dubbing. 