I have got spinning and packing deer hair down pretty well. I would like to tie some of those deer hair patterns with wool to fish them down deep. What is a good cheap source of wool to use, grad student budget, and where is an easy place to find it; craft store, Wal-mart, etc. Finally I think that it ties the same way as deer hair, are there any changes that I will need to make? Thanks for your input.
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
Micro,
By ‘wool’ do you mean the pure natural stuff, a blend or some type of synthetic? Some stores that sell these products are WalMart, JoAnne Fabrics, Michaels’ Craft Store, MJ Designs and others. Some skeins come in multicolors. You just have to cut up into sections. There’s Aunt Lydia’s Rug Yarn (synthetic) that costs less than $1.00 per skein. You can buy several colors and blend into additional colors. Good for nymphs and salmon flies but not good for dries. There are some yarns that have very fine fibers. You can literally draw some off the skein and apply directly to the tying thread. These can be used for dries as well as wets and nymphs.
Hope this helps but you’ll probably have to go to some of those stores and see what yarns have the properties you are looking for.
Allan
i think micro is talking about pure wool. for some bass and sculpin patterns, it is spun on the hook shank like deer hair.
I think that it is the pure wool that they use for all the deep patterns. The flies that I am thinking about are all the big bass type flies that were originally tied using clipped deer hair heads so they would float, like Nix sunfish pattern. There are wool headed versions of most of those flies, I am just unsure of what type of wool that they use and where I can get a hold of it for cheap. I don’t see it at the fly shops that I go to and would prefer to get it in bulk somewhere else because I tie and lose a lot of those flies. Thanks
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
Hi Micropteris!
Most fly shops sell a product called “Sculpin Wool”. I’m not sure if it is 100% wool or if it matters. You can buy 100% virgin wool in several colors from a store that specializes in yarns and such. In my search for wool, I found that the stores like Walmart, Joann’s, Target, Kmart and most of the craft stores do not have 100% virgin wool. I was looking for wool for some old European patterns. I guesss in answer to your question, the sculpin wool product is probably what you are looking for. On another note, I was watching Scott Sanchez demonstrate some tying techniques a couple weeks ago where he was tying on clumps of wool/yarn around the hook shank and, trimming top and bottom to give a wide, flat profile, similiar to a sculpin. It was a neat idea and looked good. You can mix-n-match different colors (i.e; brown, tan, olive and etc.) to get a mottled effect. Anyway, I would look for the “Sculpin Wool”. My local Sportsman’s Warehouse has it as well as a few of the fly shops. Hope this helps.
Bob
maybe ? [url=http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/Fibers.htm:032b6]http://www.pacificwoolandfiber.com/Fibers.htm[/url:032b6]
I can hook you up with as much raw wool as you could use in ten lifetimes. E-mail if you’re interested. No charge. I have a ton. Literally.
So I have this bag of raw wool? What do I do it now? Do I wash it first? And then how do you sipn it? Do you do it just like deer hair?
Thanks
Most craft stores sell pure mohair in the doll making section. Usually have natural blond, which can be dyed, and brown. A large bag is only a couple of bucks.
Joe
Spinning wool is a bit different from spinning deer hair. One thing it won’t flare like deer hair. Two ways to approach it. One is to put a clump of wool on the top of the shank and one on the bottom, make a couple of loose wraps and then tighten. The wool should spin on the shank but won’t flare you can tease it with your fingers as you’re tightening the thread, or wait till the you’ve filled the shank then tease it out before you start to trim. Second way, and this is the one I use is to slide a clump of wool/fleece down the hook shank and make the wraps to tightend the wool, then you bring the thread in front of the wool and push it back. The first clump you tie in you trim the front even leaving the back tapered, the rest of the clumps are trimmed even front and back. Like deer hair you keep packing it on the shank. Once its packed you trim it to shape with scissors. You won’t be able to use a razor.
A few years ago, I bought a 12# bag of pure Merino wool at Wal-Mart. I’m not sure if it’s still available or not, as I still have most of it. It’s a cream color that dyes very well with Kool-Aid and other dyes, and I’ve been using it for a long time. However, wool patches are available at most flyshops and are very usable, already dyed in most desirable colors.
I’ve received a few e-mails and I’ll send anyone who wants it some wool. My better half has reminded me, though that not everyone likes the smell of sheep as much as I do, so I’m going down to the barn and I’ll pull out a few fleeces, trim out the nasty things and scour (wash) them. They should come out a kind of creamy color, but maybe gray-ish. After I’ve got them dried, I’d be happy to send some to any FAOL folks who write, and they can play with it from there.
I’m going to play with processing some a little further to see what happens. I raise sheep for meat, not wool, so this stuff isn’t the same as what goes into fine woolens, but maybe we can come up with an end result that works for flies.
An economical way to acquire good wool is by buying a complete hide (tanned not raw). I’ve purdhased them in the mid 30 dollar range and then cut the hide into 3" wide by 12"strips for dying or tying in its natural color. needless to say but a complete hide ties a lot of flies.
You could also try some skeins of acrylic yarn. It’s the stuff in craft stores that looks just like wool. Just cut a two inch piece, hold one end and use a bodkin to seperate the fibers. Once it looks similar to craft fur proceed with tying. As was pointed out, this won’t spin like deer hair. It’s best to stack it.
Good luck,
Warmouth
Thanks for all the info and your help with this topic. I look forward to adding this new skill to my fly arsenal to get Mr. Bucket mouth
Who has time for stress when there are fish to catch.
Nick
The house is smelling great! Should have looked, but grabbed fleece from the first bag I came to. I just happen to have grabbed the fleece from my 250 lb tup (ram) Monty, and how shall I say this…the aroma is quite distinctive!
I will have a small quantity of the uniquely colored wool from ‘down there’ that goes into the Tup’s Indispensible if someone would like it. I’ve seen versions of this fly tied with synthetic materials and the color is a bright yellow. Nothing at all like the ‘true’ yellow that comes from a ram putting on his perfume.
The wool I will be sending out will be fairly clean, with most of the grease (lanolin) and dirt, grass, burrs, etc. removed. It should take dyes readily, but it will be really nothing more than a clump of wool. The fibers pull out nicely and everyone should be able to manipulate it into whatever form thay want, but I would like to know more about what a fly tier would look for in a natural fiber product like this. Maybe it’s the shack nasties or frostbite on the brain, but I’m feeling industrious. I’ve decided to invest in a set of wool combs so I can draw the fibers out into nice bunches, and I’m going to play with dyeing some, too. Am I being silly in thinking that there might be a niche here? Any feedback would be appreciated. E-mail me or respond here.
For now, though, we’ll look at this as what it is: I’ve got wool and if you want some, I’ll get it to you. I’ve had a good response so far, and will get stuff in the mail when it’s nicely dried.
[This message has been edited by Tup (edited 03 February 2005).]
Tup,
You should definitely shear some wool for the Tup’s Indispensable fly. Bill
wsbailey,
He should if he knows the ingredients for the dubbing. Also, just remember, the wool for the dubbing comes from a certain part of the sheep (ram).
Allan
Bill, I did shear both my rams, keeping that special stuff separate. It’s been spoken for and now I’ll have to wait 'til next summer’s shearing to get more.
Rasslin’ them big boys just for a normal shearing is near 'nuff work for most, but you should see 'em squirm when the shears come down low!
Even though I buy wool by the fleece I have never had the gall to ask for the special stuff for that very reason. Bill