natural or synthetic

[flytyingfred]

I am a fairly new tyer and I have chosen to use all natural fur for dubbing in my flies. Do you use natural fur or synthetic? fred

 

[tomgamber]

whatever is the right color and texture and price.

 

[gfen]

Whatever's in these little packets I buy. I think its synthetic.

Shows how little it motivates me, as long as its cheap and comes in a colour I want, I'm down.

 

[MKern]

I use it all but I prefer hare-tron for nymphs (half rabbit, half antron) and for dries I like superfine (synthetic).

 

[jayL]

Same as mkern. I like mixes for the flash and bugginess, and pure synthetic for delicate dries.

 

[littlelehigh]

orvis spectrablend for wets superfine for dries. Mainly synthetics

 

[ryguyfi]

MKern wrote:
I use it all but I prefer hare-tron for nymphs (half rabbit, half antron) and for dries I like superfine (synthetic).

I use the exact same for my nymphs and dries. I like the antron mix for putting a bit of flash in all my nymphs... also use that for the body of my emergers to make that part sink. The superfine floats like a cork most of the time, and if you work it right, you can get the slim profiles sometimes needed for dries.


have some natural stuff... hares mask, and natural dubbing I got in my original kit, but I rarely use them.

 

[stonefly101]

What Tom said but I'll add application as well. I tend to use synthetics more for drys (such as Superfine or Stalcups dry fly) and natural more in nymphs (such as hares ear, squirrel, or possum).

 

[osprey]

Fred if you choose natural fur for your dubbing try to make friends with a trapper , a green hide , untanned , still has the oils in it that helped whatever it was , muskrat for example , stay dry. the tanning process supposedly removes the natural oils that make the fur waterproof, most of what you get at fly shops and mail order is scraps of tanned fur from the garment industry, don't get me wrong tanned fur is also very usefull , there are many applications, experiment , have fun , GOOD LUCK

 

[flytyingfred]

osprey,
thanks for the info I have been tying for less than a year but I only use natural materials. I live in the country and have access to lots of different materials. I read and got info on what to do with the pelts and so I have lots of rabbit squirrel ducks and I am ready to start using a raccoon I have had for months and an oppossum. I am not sure what I am going to use them for yet but they both look useful. I am hoping to shoot a woodchuck since I dont have one of those yet but did see some interesting patterns for them. Well if you have any ideas for the coon or the oppossum it would be very useful. fred

 

[osprey]

Fred, try dubbing loops for the coon and possum, the guard hairs from a ground hog, whistle pig ,ground grizzly, woodchuck make great caddis and stonefly wings.

 

[Van_Cleaver]

I use both, like a lot of the tiers that replied. Don't be afraid to experiment with materials that aren't in a catalog. A lot of my best nymphs are tied with the fur I brushed out of a Chocolate Lab. He's been gone for years, but I still take great pleasure in catching fish with flies that were tied with his fur. Almost the exact color of pheasant tail, but much more durable, and you can brush it out, if you want buggier. Also, I really like Arizona synthetic peacock, for the same reasons. Be creative, and don't get too caught up in exactly duplicating traditional patterns. I like to let the fish be the judges, as they aren't biased one way or the other.