Deer Hair Caddis

gancho1975

gancho1975

New member
Joined
Nov 28, 2006
Messages
5
Does anyone use deer hair for there caddis dries? If so, what kind of success have you had?
 
Dear gancho,

I use it but it has to be short, fine hair. It works just as well as elk hair if you have the right stuff. You have a hard time making wings with the stuff you spin for bass bugs and muddler heads.

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
All my elk hair caddis are tied with deer hair. :cool:
 
I 2nd Tim's suggestion about not using the butt hair or it will flare out on you. I use deer hair for almost all of my caddis since its what I have the most of laying around. No point in using elk hair if you have deer hair to use.
 
I'll second Tim's response.

The problem is that it is hollow, and when you pull the string tight, the hair wants to spread. The finer stuff works OK, but you still don't want to pull it as tight, meaning you need more head cement. But it is very buoyant.

If you are looking for alternative materials for caddis flies, I’ve also used groundhog tail for caddis wings (grannoms). Heck, I have even used wool from sheep. A guy who used to visit this site and went by Jeff F taught me that one. He even sent me several samples in different colors. Rumor has it he “harvested” the wool himself. :-o Anyway, they don’t look all that great to the angler, but in the water, the fish like it. I tie those with no hackle, and the fly sits much lower in the water. Only the wool wing is on the surface.

Edit: OK, I guess i will have to third Tim's response since it was already seconded.
 
With deer hair as was said you want the short version. THis usually equates to a summer coat or coastal deer. Deer coats shed and change over to longer and "celled" follicules. When the thread is pulled tight on these hairs, the cells collapse causing it to flair. With Summer coated northern deer or coastal deer from southern states, you need not worry about this problem.

So if you are using deer harvested in PA...Be sure to shoot them before they gain their winter coats.

Look for the terms Summer or Coastal when Ordering Deer hair for caddis.

Maurice
 
Maurice wrote:
With deer hair as was said you want the short version. THis usually equates to a summer coat or coastal deer. Deer coats shed and change over to longer and "celled" follicules. When the thread is pulled tight on these hairs, the cells collapse causing it to flair. With Summer coated northern deer or coastal deer from southern states, you need not worry about this problem.

So if you are using deer harvested in PA...Be sure to shoot them before they gain their winter coats.

Look for the terms Summer or Coastal when Ordering Deer hair for caddis.

Maurice

Or you could use roadkill. They are in their summer coat right now. :-D
 
FarmerDave wrote:
Maurice wrote:
With deer hair as was said you want the short version. THis usually equates to a summer coat or coastal deer. Deer coats shed and change over to longer and "celled" follicules. When the thread is pulled tight on these hairs, the cells collapse causing it to flair. With Summer coated northern deer or coastal deer from southern states, you need not worry about this problem.

So if you are using deer harvested in PA...Be sure to shoot them before they gain their winter coats.

Look for the terms Summer or Coastal when Ordering Deer hair for caddis.

Maurice

Or you could use roadkill. They are in their summer coat right now. :-D

Yes but you have to get to them quick...cutting the straps off a bloated deer can get rather repulsive should you puncture the cavity. Boo-whuhhhhh....... :-o
 
Maurice wrote:
FarmerDave wrote:
Maurice wrote:
With deer hair as was said you want the short version. THis usually equates to a summer coat or coastal deer. Deer coats shed and change over to longer and "celled" follicules. When the thread is pulled tight on these hairs, the cells collapse causing it to flair. With Summer coated northern deer or coastal deer from southern states, you need not worry about this problem.

So if you are using deer harvested in PA...Be sure to shoot them before they gain their winter coats.

Look for the terms Summer or Coastal when Ordering Deer hair for caddis.

Maurice

Or you could use roadkill. They are in their summer coat right now. :-D

Yes but you have to get to them quick...cutting the straps off a bloated deer can get rather repulsive should you puncture the cavity. Boo-whuhhhhh....... :-o

Allow me to give you a little advice on that. There is an easy way to tell the fresh roadkill from the day old without having to run over your own. All you need is a piece of chalk. On your way to work, stop and draw a circle around all the roadkill that you see. On your way home, the fresh ones are the ones without a chalk circle around them. :-D
 
If you or a buddy archery hunt skin the hide out then salt it down or put borax on it and let it fully dry, then just cut off patches as you need them. I have an early archery hide that I use for wings and a rifle season hide that I use for heads and bodies. The best time to get them before their hides change is usually mid october and earlier. The deer I use I got on the first day of the season and the hair is only about 2 inches long at its longest point. My rifle deer hair probably averages around 4 inches in length.
 
gancho1975 wrote:
Does anyone use deer hair for there caddis dries? If so, what kind of success have you had?

Yep! Go to this years Jamboree Photo page to see what kind of success I've had.

Hank
 
All my caddis flies use deer hair.Like others said easy to get (also being a deer hunter).most of my friends do the same.
 
hey don't knock road kill. I had a prof @ PSU who hade a banjo "drum" out of a ground hog he hit.

Too bad there aren't any dead jungle cocks on my way to work....
 
Back
Top