Rich gave me a tip that I want to pass along.As the weather and waters cool, our thoughts turn naturally to Float’n Fly fishing.
Time to tie some up. The “flies” popularized by the likes of Charlie Nuckols and Bob Coan are small jigs traditionally made of Troll Hair, AKA fake fur.
There is website where you can get free swatches of fake fur.
http://www.distincti...php?cat=LONGFUR
They have a lot of different furs to choose from. I went ahead and got five free swatches, Husky Fur (grey), Extra Long Fur burnt orange). Brandy Fox (brown),Monkey Fur (black), and Sparkle Fur (lime).
I am glad it was free so I could try a few different types. Not all of them totally good for tying. It turned out that the Sparkle Fur was far and away the best with fibers a full 4 inches long and minimal fluff under fur. The Sparkle is achieved by plugging in a few metallic strands about every inch. Though the strands could be removed, I would leave them in since I usually add flash to wings anyway. Sparkle fur comes in a good range of colors.
You can learn from my mistakes. Mistake 1, the Husky Fur was usable only because it offered some black tipped guard hairs about 3 inches long that could be teased out of the heavy under fur. Mistake 2, the Monkey Fur swatch was very matted and required some work with a comb to straighten the fibers about 3 inches long. Once that was done the fur is usable though the color selection is limited to black or white. Mistake 3, Extra Long Fur was disappointing. Even combing did not cure the matted hairs. Fibers about 2 inches long can be teased out of the dense under fur. Mistake 4, Brandy Fox was my worst mistake. The longest fibers were barely 1.5 inches long.
Go get your free swatches now. If you need some inspiration on patterns to tie, visit the Punisher Lure site.
http://www.punisherl...t-fly-jigs.html