I have a old roommate now living in another state that is getting ready to slaughter 4 pigs this year sometime after Thanksgiving. He knows I a big collector and user of all types of fur and feather and he has asked me if there is any of the skin or fur I want off the pigs. I remember seeing in Eric Leiser’s book Fly Tying Material that the belly fur is useful for fly tying but I do not remember him saying any where in the book for what. Keep in mind these are just your standard farm pink little pigs and not wild boars.
Funny thing is since I have not really looked at a pig since I was young and I was not into fly fishing back then I really was not sure if any of the fur would be useful and what the use might be. I wonder if any one get enlighten me on uses from the pig for fly tying. To be fair I do have a small piece of wild boar bristles in my stash that is fairly long and black that make good antenna and legs but when I showed him a piece when he was in town from another state he stated his pigs did not have any fur that long or like that.
So was Eric right and I should have him send me some of the belly fur? Will I need him to keep it on the skin like wild boar bristles or is the fur more of a dubbing material and it can just be shaved off?
If left on the skin can I cure it like I would deer or elk?
I would like some idea of what to tell my buddy on if I can make use of this free material? Can any one of you help me out?
Hikepat,
The pig fur (pig wool) is used for classic salmon and wet flies, sort of like seal fur. Dyed useful colors and dubbed on as a body. I’ve only seen it for sale on Classic Salmon Fly sites.
REE
I’m thinking,Pig nymphs and Pig Buggers…
It’s a "Gold Ribbed Pigs Ear! :lol:
Pig fur… never heard about thet… very intresting
The coarser hairs can also be used like moose mane, either as antennae/legs or wrapped around the hook as bodies. Pig hair has a reputation for being extremely durable.
Ed
Pig wool (fur) was a very important dubbing material, right up to the end of the 19th century, when it was superceded
by seal’s fur. There is still a source for it in the USA.
Have a look here - http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page102.html
These are the type of Salmon flies used in Scotland before the introduction of all the exotic feathers and furs.
Which was done to sell flies to the English Tourists.
The above flies caught just as many Salmon and probably still would, were dressed and used by the locals around the Clyde and Tweed.
Remember every cottager kept a couple of pigs in those days.
Donald,
Is there anything you don’t know about fly tying? Really great information. Thanks!
Yes, quite a lot actually, but I have done a lot of research into 19th century Scottish flies.
Thanks for the great idea and information one in all. So it sounds like I will want him to shave some hair off in each color I can for me to use then. Good to know. Just made plans with my fiancees family to spend Thanksgiving about 15 miles from where he lives and it sounds like I will need to take an old pair of scissors and old electric razor with me to collect some of the fur. To bad his not butchering them till the weekend after Thanksgiving so I might get some of the meat. Though he has offered to add another pig to the pen next year for me for just the cost of the pig and feed and smoking the bacoon and hams but I would have to drive over to pick it up.
Donald and other it looks like from the photo’s that this will make some very interesting dubbing material much different then anything in my current collection and I will have to use some to tie up some of those 1800 flies to try out on some of our West Coast Steel-head sometime. Heck might even try out a pigs ear nymph.
Thank you very much.
Most of the pigs raised today are bred to be relatively hairless because nowadays it’s a waste product. Most just have a thin coat of bristles which nevertheless can be used for fly tying especially if they are dyed. Mammals are generally two coated with outer guard hairs and an inner coat. The inner is usually shed in the spring and regrows in the fall. In the past hairy pigs were valuable because the inner coat helped them keep warm. Obviously this trait is no longer useful and has been bred out of modern hogs. There are still some rare breeds of hogs that are closer to the original wild hog and retain an inner coat of hair. Such hogs have been disappearing from the American farm scene since the 1950’s if not earlier. Bill
like ron said, the fur from the chin is the best. it is like seal, but a lot more rough, like steel wool, mainly used for hand tyes and fishing flies.
I knew Donald would jump in and reply with his usual great information! Pig’s wool is a VERY classic English tying material. Look at many of the old writings from Thomas Barker, James Chetham and the like and many of the patterns call for “hogs down”. Chetham lists his must haves for fly tying and indicates that hogs down can be " . . . gotten from butchers, or others and is combed from the roots of the hair of the hog . . . it can be dyed any colour you judge convenient, and it’s excellent because it both shines well and is stiff, proper for the water, and is lively."
They were using is for dry flies as well. And that’s back as far as the late 1600’s and into the 1900’s.
I guess it’s been around for a while!
The skin cures very much like deer or elk. Gets very hard if dried and cured.
Joe
There is a breed of pigs called Wooly pigs.
http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/weblog/comments/4042/
Scroll down and click on the small picture to see Wooly pigs.
However, and oddly enough…“Pig Wool/Hair” is not used in the construction of the “Calcasieu Pig Boat” fly!?
Go, figure!
It would appear that we may be able to get this really fine material back in the future. While I was looking around (I really thought I was close to the end of the Internet there for a bit even.) I found this site.
http://www.pigparadise.com/curly.html
Which has some really good information about the wooly pigs!
Amazing what’s out there. 