FLYMPH FORUM

IBF #16 has really made me obsess over fur-bodied flymphs lately, so I thought I might pick y'alls collective brain about what you're looking for in a good dubbing blend. I thought Doug had an interesting take in the earlier thread when he noted

[quote] I have settled on Hareline Dubbin's Sheared and Blended Muskrat with Antron. It is an extremely fine dubbing which fits better with the loop method of dubbing that I like./quote]

but I also remember Jim S. talking about what you might call a "dual density" blend that combined both coarse and fine materials.

Any particular combinations that work well for you?

Both red fox and pine squirrel blend well with rabbit or possum to add a little "spikey-ness".

I use AUS Possum under fur from the skin also fox and pine squirrel which I blend with seal or hares ear. I try to stay away from pre mixed blends and do my own to keep it as natural as possible. On occasion I will use zelon or something like that.

i spose it all depends on what quarry your after, how deep you want your fly to swim (synthetics vs. natural or "blends"), & how much sparkle you may or may not want. When i tye them for Steelhead for instance.....i use a lotta synthetics, or blends.....w/ Seal and such, not to mention i like very long fibered dubbings, because i rope dubb a LOT.....it's much quicker than messin' with loops, and wax is totally unessessary. With the Seal i will use a loop.

I would definitely go along with Jim's idea that softer under fur should be mixed with spikier guard hair. Remember Hidy's idea was that the fur and hackle capture air to create a hydrofuge. In fact between presentations, he would often blot the fly to dry it so it would again trap air. The spiky quality of certain furs, like squirrel,could be mixed with softer fur like mole. Some fur, like hare's mask often contains both guard hair and underfur.

Mark

Thanks for the replies, gents. Like a lot of you, I tend to favor natural materials (though I did pick up a package of SLF in Kaufman's "stonefly black" recently) so it seems as if pine squirrel is at the top of my shopping list. (FWIW, not far from where I took the pictures in the other thread, there was a "boomer" that ran down to chatter at me--I must say that nothing interupts ones pantheistic musings like the prospects of a new source of dubbing. )

CB, Howdy;

An old trick I used to use when huntin' Tree-rats was to keep a 40' length of cord handy.

As they will skittle around to the back of the tree from you I'd tie the cord to a bush on my approach side then
work my way carefully past the tree. T-r would slide 'round to the side the cord was tied to the bush.
I'd get set, jerk the cord, the bush would make a comotion, T-r comes to my side ..... Dinner !

hank

One of the furs mentioned in Leisenring's book is field mouse AKA meadow vole. I think that this would be an interesting fur to try but it isn't commercially available. Years ago I worked at the airport loading cargo planes at night. Near the edge of the runway I saw a skunk's tail sticking out from a hole he was digging. Apparently it was a vole burrow because there were voles running every which way. Bill

Here is another fur that is not used very often and that is skunk. When I was at the FFF in West Yellowstone there were two tyers using skunk. It seems as it is a very versatile material. I looked for some but a whole skin is pricey so I'll keep looking on Ebay until I find some to try.

You know, I was just looking at a skunk pelt--as you said, a little pricey, but I could really see taking a page out of Ray's and Carl's book and scaling down, say, a Green Butt Skunk. As for voles, we got 'em (no doubt fat ones, from eating fallen seeds from my wife's bird-feeder)--if I get a bad case of cabin fever this winter, it might be worth harvesting a few in the name of lawn maintenance.

BTW, Hankeye, that sounds like a job for Rascal....