Wrapping Craft Fur

[jerry from sac]

I've seen Lee Haskins cut a strip of craft fur (maybe 3/8") and wrap it like hackle. I've since forgot exactly how he does this, can anyone expand or elaborate on this technique?
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- jerry

[David Lee]

Hi Jerry !

Take the sheet of CF , fabric side facing you -

Use a double-edged razor blade , break it in half length-wise (careful w/ fingers here) -

Cut the fabric AGAINST the grain , not the direction the hair is flowing (use little pressure on the razor , you want to cut only the fabric backing) -

Trim your CF strip's end to a point , tye-in -

This works best with short-hair CF , the long haired stuff tangles like mad after a fish ..... bring a comb to sort the fly after it's been eaten .

Shoot me a PM if you have any questions .

David

[Lee Haskin]

Hey Jerry,

Yes, this is a great way to build bulk into a fly. Unfortuantely, using the backing, with the Targus Foxxfur, adds considerable bulk, which is a bad actor for many applications. I really don't recommend this any more, for most patterns, since it closes the gape of the hook, which is a "no-no"! Grin!
If you use this method, you MUST "cross-cut" the patch, similar to a cross-cut rabbit strip. You need to experiment with the width (usually about 3/8") to get the proper backing/fur ratio. Once the cross-cut is made, all you need to do is stretch the strip to create a 360 deg. dubbing strip! Very cool.

Now, you can also clip the fur from the backing and add it to a dubbing loop. This works quite well too, and you don't have the bulk created by the backing. Make sense?

As I mentioned before, I am currently using the Targus SST Dubbing material, in a dubbing loop, for most of my pattens that call for a full body. You can thicken the dubbing to create a very deep belly too, which is nice for delta Clousers.

Hope this helps.

$.03
Lee