About a year ago I was trying to obtain a certain look for a sculpin. After several trips to a local Flyshop and trying everything from synthetics such as chenille, wool and hair, it just didn’t duplicate what I had in mind. I started looking at my furs that have gathered dust over the years. My wife always jokes about my little basement corner. She’s right though, it looks like I run a trap line. I contacted some trappers from an outdoor website and a decent selection was made available for reasonable price. Add the occasional road kill opossum, woodchuck, 4 kinds of squirrel, porcupines, deer and rabbits from the previous year’s hunt.
While analyzing the structure of each hide it revealed the variety of fur. Naturally there are the guard hairs and the underfur. Experimenting with a blend of each and several different critters ground up in your average Wallmart coffee mill I was able to create dubbing that fit the bill. I was really amazed of the quality and texture of the material. Removing the longer guard hairs also provided some top-notch dubbing for smaller bugs such as dries, wets and buggers.
Here’s an emerger tied with the natural stuff
Another nymph tied with muskrat, rabbit and fox
Naturally, beaver and rabbit (both underfur and mask) make ideal candidates for the fine stuff, but don’t overlook the fur closest to the hide on any critter. Beaver is probable the most buoyant, but with today’s floatants just about any fur will float if properly treated. The natural color of beaver does limit its application.
Blending for color is also a breeze. Too brown? Add some olive hare’s mask. Too light? Add a little woodchuck underfur. That stuff is almost black and it won’t take much to tone it down. Don’t be afraid to blend a few synthetics into your dubbing. Stuff like wool, sparkle yarn and even antron will work, providing you cut it short or it will wrap itself around the shaft and clog the grinder.
Squirrel is one of my favorites. They are so versatile. Each critter has different colorations and that makes them very unique. Take a regular old fox squirrel and shave the belly. That orange fur chopped up in the mill is awesome for the abdomen on traditionals like the Whitlock Squirrel nymph. Grab a section of the back hair, place it in a dubbing loop and make the thorax. By the way, the see-through clamps in the Marc Pettijan Magic Tool kit are ideal for that kind of tying procedure. It allows you to see the length of the hair prior to placement, but with a little practice using a decent chip clip will also do the job.
(Thanks to Graham for this perfect specimen)
For a buggier look reduce the grinding time and leave coarse. That’s perfect for larger offerings.
Using this natural stuff has become an addiction. While some of my buddies are set on tying with chenille for some applications, I’ll use some of my home-brewed and tie the same bug. The results are like night and day. It just has a better appearance.
Happy grinding…
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