I’ve been looking at a number of patterns lately that call for “deer hair.”
But, that’s all that they specify. They don’t say if they want body hair, or belly hair, or bucktail; each, of course, with their own properties and buoyancies.
Obviously a deer-hair bug won’t work with bucktail, so if the pattern is for a bug I know it’s belly or body.
But the patterns I’ve been seeing are for streamers. I don’t have any links handy, unfortunately, but is there a way for me to discern what kind of “deer hair” to use for a given pattern, if the pattern doesn’t specify ?
MZR’
If the pattern you say, “Is a streamer” and they’re speaking of the "deer hair’ that makes up the body… from the hook eye/head, back past the bend of the hook, then the ONLY “deer hair” long enough to do that it of course is “bucktail deer hair”.
If it’s the actual “head of the streamer” they’re talking about making, then it will probably be spun “deer hair body hair”.
Streamers, as a rule don’t float, so bucktail is the obvious choice, for the long body fibers.
Most recipies identify which and may even specify ‘belly’ or 'coastal’or some other identifier. Of course there are lots of variations in the type(quality) of ‘body hair’. Where on the body, time of year deer was killed, species of deer, where the deer was from geographically, age of the deer, size of the deer, and probably some influences I haven’t listed.