I know that everything that flies or walks has a use in fly tying, but I am looking for someone who has seen/made/used marmot in a fly. We were driving in to a spot in Idaho a month ago and came across one who didn’t make it to the other side of the road. I jumped out and took the tail (too far from home to skin it). Looks like it would make a good winging material, but have no idea of its floatability for dries or wets.
Any pointers would be great!!
Why don’t you tie up a fly using it and try it in a bowl of water, and put a sharp skinin knife in the trunk for “next time”. I missed out on a Beaver yesterday by less than a minute, the guy in front of me grabbed it.
I got some a few years ago and use it on many attractor dry flies as a substitution for woodchuck tail or moose body. It’s stiff and well marked, stacks well and fish seem to like it. I’m sure you took all the proper precautions for rabies and such?
Regards,
Scott
Marmot…woodchuck…rockchuck…should all be interchangeable…tail of course is different than body fur…
Just be careful with that “harvested” tail…I’ve harvested a few rockchucks and they are the most critter infested stuff I have come across:(.
For the uninformed, what would those precautions be?
Hi Maodiver,
I am in complete agreement with ScottP above, and my experience with marmot tail is identical to his.
I have used marmot tail for winging drys.
It ties in like woodchuck tail which is used for winging such flies as the improved sofa pillow and woodchuck caddis. Woodchuck tail is black to dark gray with whitish tips, and when tied in for a wing shows the dark color with some some strands having light gray mottled in to give a dark grayish wing with lighter highlights and whitish tips.
Marmot, at least the 10 to 20 tails or so that I have seen is a very dark brown with light yellowish/amberish tips.
Thus in using it for wings, it is dark gray/whitish tips for woodchuck vs dark brown/yellowish amberish tips for marmot.
Both tie in very nicely. The thread gets a nice grip on both woodchuck and marmot tail hair, so it doesn’t wander around or fall out. The tail hair is not hollow like deer nor is it hard, fine, and slick like squirrel and again has wonderful properties for tying. The diameter of the hair is a nice size for winging flies from say #16s and larger. It does not inherently float due to air trapped inside it like deer does, but does float nicely anyway if treated. I highly recommend it for flies that want the color of the marmot.
I really like tying with both marmot and woodchuck. The tail on both is great for winging. Woodchuck fur is also good for tailing. I have never used marmot body fur, as I don’t have any.
Regards,
Gandolf
http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/petti.htm
http://www.mwflytying.com/materials/organize.html
Bottom line for me - unless it’s a #1 grade Whiting Cree rooster that I found lying on the side of the road, I wouldn’t bother with it. I’ll admit I carried a pair of pruning shears, rubber gloves and plastic bags in the trunk of my car for a while, but when I got the chance to harvest a red fox tail, it just didn’t seem worth the hassle.
Regards,
Scott
What to do with woodchuck hair ? Wow?
Check this out. http://globalflyfisher.com/patterns/woodchuck/index.php#adams
Ray, that’s a great link for woodchuck…thanks
BTW folks… I’ll mention… I’ve purchased a few swatches of woodchuck body fur and have been disappointed with the commercial product
Our eastern Oregon rockchucks…that’s what we call them are beautiful…a very nice glistening golden sheen…I’ve tried to salvage some pelts but finally gave up…fatty / greasy…and as mentioned full of critters…I do have some tails…
This seems a logical use of a marmot tail, at least to me!
I love watching them sun themselves on the huge moraines!
Nice Marmot pic, but no tail in sight? 
Here’s a Yosemite marmot showing off the subject of this thread for folks that have never seen one.
thanks to all.
Betty!! You know that sometimes those suckers sunning themselves on the road deserve to be removed from the circle. And the one I took the tail from already had a permanent dose of UV damage… (UV=Under Vehicle)
I hosted a woodchuck fur fly swap a few years ago.
The due date for the swap was Feb 2 of course.
Here’s a link to the web page for the swap.
http://www.edengelman.com/Chuck/swap.html
I catch more fish on my woodchuck Route 206 fly than I do on wooly buggers! Route 206 is where I “harvested” my first woodchuck pelt. This last year I taught this fly to some of my high school students. As they all travel Route 206 as well, they were amused.
Ed
Check out the history and instructions for a western fly known as a “Picket Pin”.
I bought a pack of marmot dubbing from my local fly shop and I love it for certain applications. I use it as the head on the Iris Caddis pattern. Nice warm brown and VERY buggy appearance. The guard hairs are shiny and stiff, giving the appearance of legs.
Click photo for a larger image. The shuck is a little long on this one, but you get the idea. I’ve never used the tail hairs, but it sounds great!
As far as picking up roadkill, I am only guilty of plucking the occasional porcupine. 