Acquiring natural tying materials

[dc410]

If you are a hunter or have friends that are hunters or trappers don’t squander the opportunity to acquire some great natural tying materials. The price of furs is really in the tank, so much right now that it’s hardly worth all the work involved in fletching them out and selling them (unless you are working with massive quantities of furs) so they may be available for some great quality tying materials just for the asking. Various duck feathers, squirrel fur and tails, rabbit fur and masks, pheasant feathers, fox, muskrat, beaver furs, deer tails, turkey wing feathers - the possibilities are almost endless - don’t pass them up.

I just acquired this beautiful red fox tail from a buddy of mine that is a predator hunter. I’ll be skinning, cleaning and starting the curing process on this tail later today. It’s basically a lifetime supply of fur to tie the well known Clouser’s Foxxee Redd Minnow which is one of my confidence carp flies over the years, and carpin’ season isn’t all that far away!

 

[Solitariolupo]

I’m always asking for deer hair. Used some different stuff like bear. Also you can always use your pets fur as well.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

It’s coincidental that you posted on this subject, @dc410, as I just found this piece of tanned fur in my closet and was going to post a picture of it and ask whether anyone had an idea what kind of fur it is. .???

It is very soft, and the underfur is the identical grey as muskrat, but the fur is longer than muskrat, probably 3/4”-1” long. As you can see, the top of the fur is brown, with streaks of white guard hairs throughout. Tame rabbit perhaps? Or something other? I just dubbed some on a hook, and it dubs wonderfully.

I bought an entire tanned fox pelt, including the tail, many years ago, and over the years I’ve used some of it for dubbing in its original color, and I dyed some of it in various colors - it dyes easily, and I still have 10 lifetimes of it left. I also got some seal fur, (maybe baby seal, I can’t remember) back when you could legally get it in the US, and dyed some of that too. Same thing with muskrat.

 

[Bamboozle]

It’s coincidental that you posted on this subject dc410 as I just found this piece of tanned fur in my closet and was going to post a picture of it and ask whether anyone had an idea what kind of fur it is. .???

It looks like raccoon to me and from experience, racoon dubs and bleaches wonderfully...

In regards to natural materials. I had lots of customers & friends in the fur district in NYC back in the 1980's who gave me tons of scraps: fox, mink, nutria, chinchilla, seal, raccoon; you name it and all ready to dub.

Fur garments are unpopular but if you have a furrier nearby, ask them for scraps. Flea markets or thrift stores are another source for fur pieces if you don't want to do your own processing.

 

[Prospector]

I fit the hunter category and I do keep fur and feathers routinely from what I harvest. The hard part for me is that every pelt or feathers look so nice from a fresh harvest I tend to keep more and more.

I’ll look through what I have and post pictures of what I’m willing to part with.

 

[lars]

beware of bugs. i've had nice contributions that i've pulled out at a later date only to find small infestations.

 

[Bamboozle]

beware of bugs. i've had nice contributions that i've pulled out at a later date only to find small infestations.

I always isolate newly acquired natural materials for a week minimum, regardless of the source in a large sealed Rubbermaid container with generous supply of moth crystals before putting them with my other materials in their own sealed containers.

I have NEVER, EVER had bugs by following this routine...

BTW - It didn't happen to me, but I was at a fly shop who had their entire fly supply ravaged by bugs. I don't know what the source of the bugs was but... 😱

 

[lars]

i have a quarantine cooler where materials, even store bought, go before making it to general population.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

My wife inherited a couple beautiful full length mink coats a number of years back and had the fur made into several nice stuffed teddy bears. There was a bag full of miscellaneous scrap pieces leftover.

I’ve also tied some mink hair nymphs with some of that fur that has caught some nice trout for me. (I’ll try to remember tie one of those nymphs and post a picture of it when I have the time.)

 

[Bamboozle]

I bought a couple of red mink fur pieces at a flea market when I first started tying. For years it was my go-to dubbing for male Hendrickson's.

 

[cpc1027]

Just started getting into this - harvested some CDC and flank feathers from my last hunt of duck season last week that are currently going through a freeze/thaw cycle to kill any unwanted guests. I also have a buddy who keeps mallards and pheasants and planted a bug in his ear, so I should have access to as many feathers as I could possibly want.

Need to figure out how to dye some of them next...

 

[dc410]

It’s coincidental that you posted on this subject, @dc410, as I just found this piece of tanned fur in my closet and was going to post a picture of it and ask whether anyone had an idea what kind of fur it is. .???

View attachment 1641239907

It is very soft, and the underfur is the identical grey as muskrat, but the fur is longer than muskrat, probably 3/4”-1” long. As you can see, the top of the fur is brown, with streaks of white guard hairs throughout. Tame rabbit perhaps? Or something other? I just dubbed some on a hook, and it dubs wonderfully.

I bought an entire tanned fox pelt, including the tail, many years ago, and over the years I’ve used some of it for dubbing in its original color, and I dyed some of it in various colors - it dyes easily, and I still have 10 lifetimes of it left. I also got some seal fur, (maybe baby seal, I can’t remember) back when you could legally get it in the US, and dyed some of that too. Same thing with muskrat.

Bamboozle may be right with the raccoon, but I’m not certain of that. Possibly a strip of groundhog fur?

 

[dc410]

My wife inherited a couple beautiful full length mink coats a number of years back and had the fur made into several nice stuffed teddy bears. There was a bag full of miscellaneous scrap pieces leftover.

I’ve also tied some mink hair nymphs with some of that fur that has caught some nice trout for me. (I’ll try to remember tie one of those nymphs and post a picture of it when I have the time.)

Mink fur spins up great in a dubbing loop to make some nice small dubbing brushes. The body and head of this carp fly is red mink fur spun in a loop.

 

[barrybarry]

That's a beautiful fox tail. I've had one for about 15 years (bought it from Clouser) and it's lost some of its color. It's now much lighter. A lot of the red/brown pigment seems to disappear over time.

 

[dc410]

That's a beautiful fox tail. I've had one for about 15 years (bought it from Clouser) and it's lost some of its color. It's now much lighter. A lot of the red/brown pigment seems to disappear over time.

All skinned out, fleshed, washed and is starting to cure.

 

[bugs4]

If you've never come to a screechin' halt along the side of the road to pick up some road kill, you ain't a fly tyer.

 

[dc410]

If you've never come to a screechin' halt along the side of the road to pick up some road kill, you ain't a fly tyer.

Yes sir! Here’s a fox squirrel that I collected along some back country road in Huntingdon County a few years back. This one was still warm and quivering when I chucked it into the bed of my truck.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Mink fur spins up great in a dubbing loop to make some nice small dubbing brushes. The body and head of this carp fly is red mink fur spun in a loop.

View attachment 1641239912

What a nice looking fly, John

Here’s a simple little mink fur nymph that I tied from scrap pieces of my wife’s grandmother’s old mink coat. Not nearly as pretty as yours, but it has been effective for me in the past. Sometimes, I tie it with just the underfur body, and then tie a collar just behind the peacock head using the mink guard hairs tied in a dubbing loop.

 

[Bamboozle]

Just started getting into this - harvested some CDC and flank feathers from my last hunt of duck season last week that are currently going through a freeze/thaw cycle to kill any unwanted guests. I also have a buddy who keeps mallards and pheasants and planted a bug in his ear, so I should have access to as many feathers as I could possibly want.

Need to figure out how to dye some of them next...

Track down a copy of "Dying & Bleaching Natural Fly Tying Materials" by A.K. Best.

 

[mt_flyfisher]

Here are a couple fox tails that I have.

I got the fox tail on top from a guy many years ago who lived on Rt 23 in Leola and he claimed it came from somewhere behind his house. Who knows, @dc410, it may have run across your backyard.😃
I suspect the fox tail on the bottom came from a few miles farther north.😃

I also have a red fox squirrel tail, with the entire skin, but it’s a different fox family from the 2 foxes above.