I bought a Rumph dun colored coastal deer hair patch and it is no good. Most of the hair pathces I buy are not of good quality and these are the ones that I sort through to find the best lookig available patch. Where can I get and who makes good quality hair patches?

If I remember correctly didn't you shoot a nice buck this year? If so some of the best hair you can get is from your own deer. Here is a link to the chart I use for selecting the right hair. I had one of my larger deer hides tanned a few year ago and now I have probably 5-10 years worth of deer hair to tie with.

http://www.globalflyfisher.com/staff/helm/selecting/chart.html

What kind of no good..what is wrong with it?

It seems the tips are too long so when I make smaller caddis or comparaduns the wings are too sparse.

I shot 2 bucks this year and no hair to show for it. I donated one hide to a guy who makes gloves and purses and the other went into the :( trash. What does it cost to tan a hide?

I did keep the patch of reddish brown hair from the top of his head and the ears with a thought of tying a deers ear nymph.

I'm not sure on the cost of it, my dad does taxidermy on the side so he had all of the stuff to tan it. I would imagine if you lay the hide out flat and put borax on the flesh it would preserve it as well. At least thats what I do with small game hides.

The head/face of the deer is where the comparadun hair comes form. For me it's worked great.

I like Blue Ribbon Flies for comparadun hair. Good stuff at a moderate cost.

You can also salt a hide. Jut pour salt on the skin and let it sit for a few days.
The salt dries out the moisture and makes life for microbs inhospitable.

I get my hair from the local shop and just sort through until I find what I want. Which is dense hair with small black tips.

Have you thought of trying anything other than the standard deer hair for your comparaduns? I've seen people use many different materials such as z lon, hi-vis, sparkle yarn, even antron and I quite like snowshoe hair. There are many options aside from the normal deer/elk hair that are worth looking into.

I have the small patches...down to 22's or smaller

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I tie tons of C-Duns each year

To get good C-dun hair, you HAVE to look it over before you buy it. Coastal Deer hair can be really good, if it's the right piece. Look for a short coarse hair with short tips (the darker colored part right at the tip. The shorter the tip, the more flair you will get closer to the tip. The more coarse hair will not flair like a finer deer hair and is perfect for C-Duns.

Young Elk hair is also a good choice as is Texas Whitetail.

If you want whitetail hair to be good for C-Duns, it would have to be harvested really early in the year, the beginning of archery season before the winter coat sets in.

You can also call Chris Helm and let him know what you need. He will send you the perfect piece of hair every time.

Good Luck,

I have probably 10 patches of assorted hair for comparaduns. Rusty's advice is very good. The only thing I have to ad is to remember that a patch that is good for size 14 probably will not work on 18's, etc. They tend to tie well only within a small range of sizes.

Jerseygeorge is correct and added one thing I left out. You will need more than one piece for different sizes. The only true way to know what sizes each piece will tie is trial and error. I mark the bag when I have it sized correctly.

Sandfly,
What is that fly? I have a bunch tied but can't remember why I tied them.
Thanks,
Buffalo

La Fontaines sparkle pupa..

I got mine from Fly Fishers Paradise in State College. They dont have internet ordering though, have to call for a catalog and order by phone. The beauty part is since i am in Harrisburg if i order before lunch i have it the next day.