Dog hair for fly tail?

Fly Fishing Forum Fly Fishing General Discussion
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I’ve been lurking. Reading all the reply’s.
Its a grand humor y’all have. The answers around the answer are more entertaining than any value the answer might have had.

I went to a local dog Bueaty Parlor asking for stiff dog hair.
Well, after a couple skeptical looks, she quickly called for the girl working with her. Hmmm, I wonder if they get a lot of Sex offenders in there asking for Dog hair?
That’s impression I got from the look on her face.

After some quick ‘tall tales’ about what I wanted with the Hair, they relaxed a bit, and let me get as far as the Dumpster which had several bags of Dog hair swept up off the floor.
I picked the bag with the most light colored hair showing through the white plastic bag and headed out to the car with my prize.
I left my name and number with what I was looking for, but you can imagine how many Malemutes we have in Alabama. No return calls yet.

I have a line on one. I see him around town. I also have a Goat with long stiff white hair on his back.
“here bucky…”

So I have this bag of Dog Hair down in the barn.
It’s just too soft and willowy though.
So far I have black and white Chicken feathers, some Deer Tail coming but not here yet.
I had a Possum and killed several Racoons. I never thought to check any underbelly for anything. What an ugly beast. The Racoons are similar to a Cat. No value at all.
One Possum was eating with the Barn Cats most every day I fed them.

For the tail of a Crappie jig you want an upper tail and a lower tail, and not much, if anything, in between.
The tail parts have to stick out. Hold their shape. One going high and one going low.
But when you jig the jig up n’ down gently and slowly, the tail parts follow the jig, all the while holding their shape.

I got a five gallon bucket by my tying bench (my wife just loves that!) and I test everthing I tie in that bucket.
Not one successful tie yet! Bummer.

For you guys who tie, and the others that are starting, the Christmas season is upon us.
All that tinsle crap is going to be free pretty soon. Those Decorated trees are going to be out by the curb and you can get all the tinsle you wanted just for the scavenging.
I also went to the dumpster outside the 2nd hand store and got some old ladies clothes that have sequins and silver/gold threads going through it.

You guys dont use that stuff so much for Trout, but for Panfish its as good as gold.
If I ever tie something that works, I’ll take some photos and post them.

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***Hi there Thudpucker and thanks for maintaining the levity of this forum. Life is too short to always walk the straight & narrow. ***

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You’re right, Thudpucker. Most dog hair is too soft for the use you want. The guard hairs, in some breeds, would be stiff enough, but you have to pick 'em out.

Other animals would serve a better purpose. Deer tail will be perfect, once you get it. Goat might be near perfect. Black bear would work too, except it doesn’t dye as readily as the others.

Don’t neglect squirrel tail. Talk about a freebee: road kill squirrels are everywhere.

And, all kidding aside (badum, dum!), skunk tail is ideal for your crappie jigs.

As to sequins, and garland, and all that sort of trim, I don’t bother dumpster diving for it. Not at the prices they charge in the thrift shops. I mean, we’re talking $2-4 for more sparkling thread and sequin chains than you could use in a lifetime.

Welcome to the flyfishing forums. Let’s hear more about your panfish tying experiences.

Brook
http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com

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Thanks DryRod,

Our local Fly Fishing shop owner and guide just made the papers. Full page too. BIg photo of him. (The Cullman Times/…one fly guy/ (Cullman AL)
Brandon Jacksons fly shop is an hour’s drive south of me.
On a long trip like that I’d forget where I was heading, and why. [crazy]

Brook, Thanks for the Skunk tip. I just spotted a fresh one as we speak.
Hes one of the few that died out of the roadway. In a couple more days I’ll go pick im’ up.
You gotta get em’ quick if they end up in the road or they get pulverized and you have to dig through the …
After a week or so, the Ravens and Turkey Buzzards get to them and you’ve lost all the good stuff.

I never thought about Squirrel tail. I’ve seen only one Squirrel this fall. Pickins’l be better this spring I guess.

Brook’s right about Dumpster diving for the flashy stuff.
BUT!!! Whats the point of going to Hobby Lobby to buy a bunch of stuff with good Money when you can get it free with the sacrifice of a little pride?

We dont have the ‘Bag Ladies’ and the ‘Grocery Cart street vendors’ down here or I’d trade them some used Cigar butts for the flashy stuff.

This all started a couple weeks ago as I went to tie ‘Crappie Candy’ and couldnt find any of the crinkle stuff locally. I’ll have to start doing business over the Internet I guess.

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Man am I glad I’m not the only one with a dog with a bad haircut. I have an Aussie and a Mallamute that have gotten too close to the tying table a few times. And PLEASE if anyone wants some of the Mallies. undercoat don’t hesitate to ask. I will litterally fill a garbage can up with it in spring.