Another Deer Hair Diver

[Hairstacker]

Well, here's the 3rd deer hair diver so far this spring. Decided to play with the colors and in the same order reflected in Whitlock's Fruit Cocktail deer hair bug. Don't know if these colors are particularly effective but they sure do look festive: :lol:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF1245.jpg

Here's a view of the fly from the top/rear:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/Sachlil/DSCF1259.jpg



Fun stuff! Can't wait for the topwater season to get here!

[Ed Wahl]

Jeez Mike, you do some beautiful divers.

Topwater bass'n is on and off again in ponds, depending on the weather. A warm week and it's back on.

I'm having some fun tying some of KD's Rats.

Warmwater and Sierra trout both are getting real close.

Ed

[Fats]

Another pair of really nice hair bugs!

Good Job!

[jbird]

Mike,

If you put one of your divers in the mail to me, I promise not to tell my friends I tied it . ;-) ;-)

[Ed Wahl]

Uh, Jay, your friends wouldn't believe you anyway. ;)

Mike here is a true Maestro of the stacked deer hair fly.

Way to go Mike, I know you spent many, many hours honing your craft.

You are a master of your game.

Ed

[Darian]

Fire Tiger colors.... Great lookin' bug, Mike.... :nod:

Ed,.... Are you tying those Mat Rats for the East Carson :?: :p :p

[Ed Wahl]

East Carson?

Darian, is there something you should be telling me?:shock:

C'mon, friends don't hide something like that. :-D

What do you know, and who told you? :unibrow:

I've got hooks up to 6/0, will that do?

Ed

[Darian]

Hey Ed,.... Like the military, it's "don't ask (too late for that), don't tell".... Of course the Rat doesn't have to be large as 6/0 but maybe a size 2.... :?:

I can see it now. You're lobbing the Rat into the top end of a very deep hole and drifting/twitching it thru the drift. :) A big Brownish looking brute roles up takes the Rat with a slashing take.... :eek: You're busy running down the bank to keep up with the fish as other fly fishers are watching the action (and offering a lot of useless advice :wink: ).

You're so excited that you forget to watch your step on the rocks and fall into the water head first but manage to keep the rod in hand without breaking off the fish. :cool: (WOW!!! I'm even getting me excited.) Damn that waters cold!!! After recovering your footing, you try to put the clamps on this demonic fish and find that the water has soaked your reel and the drag (such as it is) is filled with gravel/sand.... :x Now, you gotta think fast and, while the fish is sulking, you remove the spool and dip it in the water. The sand seems to be gone. =D>

After following the fish downstream for several miles, you haven't actually seen it yet but it's BIGGGGGG(!!!!!) with an olive back and brownish gold in color. Gotta be a brown.... [-o< It's beginning to show signs of wearing down now and you're starting to increase pressure on this fish. :cool: About that time, a game warden walks up and says, "man that's gotta be the biggest brown I've ever seen hooked up here." The crowd agrees.... :nod:

You're making some headway now and the fish is starting to appear longer than you think it should. :confused: When in clear view of the warden and crowd, they let out an audible gasp.... :eek: It's a NORTHERN PIKE!!!!! :fish: Well, you proceed to land the Pike. The warden takes it and issues you a citation for using a fly with a barbed hook 8-[ and it's time to take the long walk back to the truck for the ride home.... :neutral: About a week after returning home, you receive a letter from DFG advising you that you're under investigation for illegal stocking of Northern Pike in California waters.... (admit it Ed, you've always wanted to stock Pike in the East Carson after catching nothing but 9" Trout on all those backpacking trips [-X )

Whew!!! I'm all worn out.... How about you, Ed :question: :question:

[Scott V]

Mike your skills continue to improve with every tie. Do not stop tying, your taps bug from the swap I did is still one of my favorites to throw.

[Bob Scheidt]

Mike:

Those can't be easy to do that well, great job.

Awhile back you had said you would like to find some bright rust red marabou. I dyed some recently and I did get it bright! I can give you some if you are at Bill's expo.

Bob Scheidt

[Hairstacker]

Thanks fellas, sincerely appreciate the very kind comments.

Bob -- thanks again for the offer on your marabou -- I am definitely going to try to make the expo this year. [-o<

[craig]

:Dwhat deer hair are you using for your bugs I cannot get enough length to have them come out nicely any help would be appreciated

[Hairstacker]

Craig, I don't use any particularly special deer hair, just the average "deer belly hair" and "deer body hair" you can find in any fly shop. I used both types on this particular fly.

Deer body hair tends to be longer in length with more earthy colors than deer belly hair. Deer belly hair can be as long in length but is usually shorter (often too short) and always comes in brighter colors. In fact, really bright colors like white and bright yellow are only available in deer belly hair. Both make good spinning/stacking hair and I use them both interchangeably, often on the same fly as I did in this case, although some believe belly hair makes better spinning hair. As an aside, there was no spun hair on this fly, it was all stacked.

If you read enough posts about this stuff, you'll find many who make a big deal about recommending you make sure to buy only "quality" hair from particular online suppliers. My own opinion is that this is overly emphasized and I wouldn't get too wrapped up about it -- most of the deer hair labeled as I described that you will find in any fly shop will work just fine as long as it is of adequate length.

Granted, I still prefer to sort through the packages and cherry-pick the better ones. Mostly I'm making sure I don't end up with hair that is too short (less than 1 1/2"-long) or unevenly dyed. I also prefer to pull the hair out of the package and press on it with my thumb, as I'm looking for patches that feel full and thick and somewhat firm -- i.e., you don't want it to feel soft and mushy. It should generally have the texture of a nylon paintbrush. With deer belly hair, in particular, it is not at all unusual to run into a patch that feels dry and coarse to the touch -- I will pass these over, as the hair will tend to be brittle. But again, don't fret about it, most will be fine and will work perfectly.

Now if you can't visit a fly shop to check the hair out in person, then you're going to have to locate an online supplier who is willing to cater to your particular needs -- i.e., hair of a particular length. Otherwise, it is a crapshoot to order either belly or body hair sight unseen, as either may be too short for your needs. In this case, I've heard that Chris Helm at Whitetail Fly Tieing is a really good source who will work with you to make sure you get what you need. You can google him up to get contact information.

Good luck!

[craig]

thanx for the help mike I will give him a call nice bugs by the way

[Jgoding]

Excellent tie. Almost makes me want to post some of my secrets....

[Hairstacker]

Thanks Jeff! Secrets? Do tell! :D

[Jgoding]

I only wish I had your skills with the hair. Albeit, I can tie it in ok, it's the trimming that kills me. If someone could shrink down one of those hedge trimmer things with the oscillating blades I'd take one.

[TMS]

Jeff, try using an electric hair cutter. Smaller versions are made for beards. Trimming with blades can be frustrating.

[craig]

I was looking for the trimming secrets also:rolleyes: how about hairstacker give it up:crybaby:. By the way the gentlemen that you referred me to for the deer hair is a super nice guy hope to get my stuff soon :D. May have to start hunting later in the yr to get the best hides :mad:

[Hairstacker]

A lot of folks express frustration with their trimming attempts. The keys for me are (i) to use the right, sharp tools for the different parts of the fly and, just as importantly, (ii) to apply a systematic approach.

All of my trimming on divers is done with a double-edged razor blade and very sharp scissors. Generally speaking, where the deer hair is very tightly packed (like the head of a diver), I use the razor blade. Where the fly is less packed (like behind the collar), or where I need to trim looser hair to shape (like the front of the collar), or where I don’t want to risk lopping something off (e.g., when trimming next to the tail), I will use very sharp scissors. For poppers, since I actually prefer to tie them so that they are not particularly densely packed, I just use very sharp scissors to trim the entire fly. By the way, scissors must be very sharp or they will tend to glance off of hair rather than cut through it. It is difficult to cut straight edges on even moderately packed hair if your scissors are not very sharp.

Regarding taking a systematic approach, what I mean is I don’t see how it’s possible to trim all areas of the fly at the same time. Instead, I trim areas of the fly in a certain order so that each trimmed area provides one or more reference points for trimming the next area and so on. Thus, on all deer hair flies (whether divers or poppers), I always start by trimming the bottom flat first, trimming as close to the thread wraps as possible to maximize hook gape and making absolutely certain the bottom is perfectly perpendicular to the hook bend. This flat bottom then becomes a reference point for trimming the rest of the fly. On divers, I use a razor blade for this task, holding it at one end and slicing across the hair on the bottom starting at the hook eye and using the hook eye as a reference point, ending up with a relatively smooth surface on the bottom. On poppers, I use very sharp scissors instead, as I prefer my poppers end up with a rougher bottom surface that only scissors can provide.

I will reserve the rest of my comments to trimming divers (although I would be happy to describe in detail how I trim poppers if anyone’s interested).

I next view the bottom of the diver, bend a double-edged razor blade between my thumb and forefinger, and trim the sides of the head, making sure it ends up with the correctly shaped outline when viewed from below and has the same width on each side of the hook shank. The hook eye is the reference point for this trimming as well.

I then turn the fly over, and again with a double-edged razor blade bent between my thumb and forefinger, start a cut on top of the fly at the hook eye and extend it in an upward/rearward angle to where I want the collar to be. By bending the razor blade in this fashion, I can make rounded/curved cuts and by making multiple cuts around the head that all start at the hook eye and extend upward and rearward to where I want the collar to be, I can achieve that neatly rounded head look. As I’m doing so, I’m holding the hook in my fingertips and turning the fly back and forth and studying it from all angles to make sure I trim a symmetrical head, and I will make many slight “shaving cuts” until I think it is smoothly and symmetrically trimmed across the entire head. Again, all of these head trimmings are in one direction from the hook eye to the collar.

I then turn the fly over and use the finished head as a reference point to view the fly from below and trim the sides of the fly with the razor blade. As I do so, I pay very careful attention to the outline I’m creating, as I prefer the entire diver (excluding the tail) to have a somewhat oval shape when viewed from the bottom when I’m done.

I then turn the fly back over and, using very sharp scissors, I trim the length and shape of the front of the collar. (The finished head is the reference point for determining the length and shape of the collar.) I then move to the rear of the fly and trim the hair to final length all around the base of the tail. Then those two points (the trim around the tail and the tips of the front collar) are then the reference points I use for trimming all the hair in between in a straight line. While doing so, I’m again examining the fly from all angles to make sure it ends up symmetrically rounded from one edge of the fly to the other. Sometimes I’ll take a new razor blade as a final step to really smooth out the area between the tail and halfway up to the collar.

At this pont, the fly will be done but I’ll take one good long last look at the overall fly to make sure all the parts are balanced with one another and to make sure I’m satisfied with the overall shape and symmetry. While doing this final inspection, I’m holding scissors with which to snip off any stray hairs that escaped my attention earlier. If necessary, I’ll re-shape an area if I think it’s necessary to bring it into balance.

Bottom-line, to end up with a really neatly trimmed fly, it does take time and a lot of carefully placed cuts. I know there are videos on Youtube.com, for example, where they do the trimming very quickly with far fewer cuts but I don’t see how you can do that and still achieve the level of neatness displayed in the diver I pictured above. For example, I’ve never counted how many, but I probably make a few dozen passes with the razor blade just to do the head of a diver, in many cases just trimming off thin shavings until the head ends up perfectly smooth and symmetrical without minute ridges. Of course, the bass could care less about such care and I freely admit such fastidiousness is wholly unnecessary from a fishing standpoint. I just happen to like the end results of such care and since each diver I create will last multiple fishing sessions, I don’t mind the time it takes, especially since this is a hobby for me. But even if you don’t plan to be that picky with your own divers, I would still strongly recommend you use the right sharp tools and pursue a systematic approach that trims areas in an established order and consciously makes use of reference points as you go.

Sorry to be so wordy but I wanted to be clear -- hopefully I’ve achieved that and this all helps.

[craig]

out standing reply I believe that I maybe in to big of a hurry to finish it slow stupid is the answer.. :D when you are trimming the back of the fly are you still looking from the eye side or the hook end and using scissors instead of the razor your shapes are so identical that its hard to visualize the cutting any other way

[craig]

:shock:Darian that sounds like you have to have done it to remember the trip :roll::---)Submit that to Calif Fisher should get you a enough to buy a new hair bug and some good laughs

[Hairstacker]

out standing reply I believe that I maybe in to big of a hurry to finish it slow stupid is the answer.. :D when you are trimming the back of the fly are you still looking from the eye side or the hook end and using scissors instead of the razor your shapes are so identical that its hard to visualize the cutting any other way

Thanks! When trimming the back of the fly, I'm still mostly looking from the hook eye towards the rear, although I will also trim in the opposite direction -- sometimes you only see things from a certain direction, which is why I'm constantly inspecting the fly from all different angles. However, I usually trim from the side around the base of the tail to keep from lopping off the marabou in the tail and to leave somewhat of a deer hair collar around the tail. And yes, this is all using scissors.

[Darian]

Craig,.... Just the product of plenty of Irish Whiskey and an over-active imagination. Sounded like fun didn't it.... :-\" :-\"

[craig]

ohhh I remember:mrgreen: