Anybody make spun deer hair poppers? I am thinking of trying it, found a dvd at Bass Pro Shops. How hard is it to make the spun deer hair tight and how hard is it going to be for me to get some decent flies this way.
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Anybody make spun deer hair poppers? I am thinking of trying it, found a dvd at Bass Pro Shops. How hard is it to make the spun deer hair tight and how hard is it going to be for me to get some decent flies this way.
There are several key things to help in getting tight spun bugs.
I have found that you need good quality deer belly hair for spun bugs. Then you need a good thread like the Orvis Salt/Bass Size G thread or Gudebrod 3/0.
You have to get or make a good packer tool, I have made mine from a hardwood dowel. just before packing, use a small drop of super glue on the thread wrap and then pack tight. Then add another drop down in the pack. I use a long needle head cement bottle to put the glue down in the packed hair.
I have put as many as 12 pencil diameter bundles of hair on a hook. Then trim it with and old style razor that you break in half. cup the razor and trim from head to tail.
Hope this helps
Thanks Randy, I am going to give it a shot and see what happens. If it is like most of my new flies I tie a couple of dozen and then throw those away and by then I am getting the hang of the fly LOL!
I do the same thing Tim. I have a whole drawer of reject flies due to my many, many failures. Any tips for layering different colors? My twin can do it quite well but not me. I want to tie some of those cool hair kicker frogs.
No suggestions? Not one?
There used to be a fly tying class out IUS New Albany IN. And the old man that taught it said to use Kevlar Thread and said this is one of the few times he used it. It allows to pull down on the hair tight enough to make to spun look. Then you slide it to the back and trim the eye side only. Making it flat on one side. Then make another and slide it back.And repeat. Until you have enough.
Its considered the [I]Messinger method of fly tying,while he often used bucktail,belly hair is more floatable due to its hollowness.[/I]
[I]Just takes practice spinning it around the hook,I used common fly tying thread,nothing but my fingers in a cats paw configuration and a vise.[/I]
[I]packing ever so much more then clipping with scissors to shape.[/I]
[I]I got to where I could tie a Mcginty a wet fly in deer hair and it was very floatable(bubblebee),just put on a few layers of back then yellow alternating.Even a royal coachman lookalike can be tied this way,it does however take more time and pain in making,but the reward is a floater.[/I]
[I]An easy pattern for anyone to make and floats superb is a goofus bug,size 18 and up floats like a cork,and requires no tedious spinning of deer hair.Basically deer hair tied and folded,brookies,bows to browns inhale them readily,in flouresent orange or yellow.[/I]
[I]An industrial accident limits my tying to a few min and took away most of the joy(severed the unal nerve)[/I]
[I]Easier to try large first like a dahlburg diver on a number 1 hook,to learn to spin.[/I]
[I]You actually spin the hair via a wrap around the hook and hair with the thread itself not the hair,tightening it tends to spread the hair around,takes practice.[/I]
Hey buddy, all you gotta do is catch me and i'll show the wonders of stacking. I hardly ever spin at all anymore unless it's to put in a really even band all the way around. Even on my poppers I pretty much stick with stacking. I'll show you. Also for you lilmule, Dave whitlock has an excellent instructional video. If you got our dvd from basspro, you probably have it. It does take practice to learn though. Especially the trimming/shaping part. Don;t get discouraged. Colonel and I definately have lots of misfit flies. I like occasionally to fish them anyway when the bite is really hot so I can say, "look even my garbage catches fish!"