Came across a nice stillwater pattern I want to try out but calls for seal dubbing which I don’t have. What makes a good substitute for seal dub ?
Thx’s
Mike
Mickalo;
While not as translucent or shiny as seal angora goat has a texture much like seal.I use seal myself but I sometimes see Seal-Sub for sale on line.Don’t know what it’s made of.
Peter
Most of the ones you see are antron carpet yarn chopped up. SLF is quite a good one, but there is no substitute for the real thing.
Cheers,
A.
Try Simi Seal.
Regards,
Scott
I’ve been using ‘Real Seal’ from Feathercraft. I like it, but I’m not allowed to have any of the real stuff for comparison!
Why is there a ban on seal fur dubbing, there are no seals killed in the process.
Adult seal fur is useless for dubbing, the fur used is the fur discarded on the beach after two weeks
by the baby seals. It would just be washed out to sea, or used by birds for their nests.
The people who banned its use are just showing their neurotic prejudices and ignorance.
Mickalo,
For whatever reason, seal fur is difficult to come by and quite expensive when you do find it.
While ‘real’ seal is supposed to look amazing and have fish catching abilities almost on a par with Cree, it’s just a semi translucent fur. The fish really aren’t all that picky. Any of the dubbings out there that have some shine and are a bit translucent will do just as well. SLF, any of the antron based blends, etc… The Semi Seal or Mohair Plus (same stuff) is Angora goat with shreads of flashabou in it. Nothing like ‘real’ seal (I think it’s the best all around fish catching material ever created, though, but I may be a bit biased).
Buddy
[b]Donald, I believe this is where the lawyer is supposed to jump up and say,
“Objection! Question asked and answered.”
Ed[/b]
Thanks buddy. After some further researching it seems that the Angora Goat, or Semi Seal, is about the best bet for a substitution for seal dub. You are right the real seal dub is expensive and a bit out of my budget range Just like the Argentinean Hare which I’ve been wanting to try, is not cheap either. Maybe down the road when my tying budget is better.
Mike
Mikalo,
Have you looked into jackrabbit dubbing. It isn’t an option for me locally, but there might be some available to you. Taken in the winter, there should be a good underfur as well as the coarser guard hairs. Taken in the summer, it should be spikier.
Ed
Ed,
Never really thought about Jackrabbits as a dubbing source. I’m going to call a local taxidermist I deal with to see if he ever comes across any. This guy is retired but has tons of misc furs, hairs and feathers at his shop. he lets me go thought it sometimes.
Mike
Mikalo,
Let us know how it works.
Ed
Jackrabbit is nothing like seal…
Most seal I see is on the hide, not loose, so I am thinking not all of it is stuff picked up off a beach…
Angora is close, but does not have near the “spring” of good seal.
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is what hosed us here in the US. If you can find seal or polar bear from prior it is 100% legal. Post '72, not so much…
I use seal dubbing on some patterns and have never experienced any difficulty in obtaining it from feathersmc.com. It’s not cheap, but he offers a wide range of colors and he’s great to do business with.
Jim Smith
I use this material or Angora Goat and Angora Goat mixed with a bit of Simi Seal:
I tie a lot of these for use in lakes and rivers here in the Eastern Sierras…
[http://stevenojai.tripod.com/sealbugger.htm
PT/TB ;)](http://stevenojai.tripod.com/sealbugger.htm)
Awesome fly. Thanks for posting the pic and link.
Ronnie
I just use seal I get from http://www.feathersmc.com/products/Seal%20Dubbing .