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Adam Grace
04-03-2005, 06:26 PM
I think that tyings tips and tricks are very helpful for any fly tier.

Here are some of my tying tricks for tying spun deer hair bass bugs.
I will tell you some of mine in exchange for some of yours.

I like to half hitch and zap-a-gap my thread after each clump of hair is spun onto the hook to ensure durability. This process takes longer but I only use it when I am tying proven patterns.

I use an old style double edged razor blade to shave away spun deer hair and sculpt the body. What makes these blades better is their ability to bend and curve to the many different shapes of your body and the cut like a hot knife through butter. The blades are difficult to find but they are well worth the effort, they are also inexpensive.

I like to add rubber legs to my deer hair bugs after the the final cut of the thread. I use Dave Whitlock's trick of pulling the RL's though the body with a needle and glueing them to the deer hair.

Dave Whitlocks video on tying deer hair bass bugs is the best Ive ever watched. Unfortunately somebody else thought so and never returned the shop's copy.

I also use a double mono weed guard on the majority of my bass flies. The double has worked much much better for me than a single.

Anyway, There are some of my tricks.

Please tell me yours.

Jay Murakoshi
04-03-2005, 07:22 PM
Adam,

I too use the double edge blade but I also use a small barber electric clippers. The only other person I've seen use electric clippers is Chris Helms.

Pretty neat but you don't want to move to fast or too deep. Just like hair, you can't glue it back on

Jay

Darian
04-03-2005, 07:30 PM
I've been using an old battery powered mustache trimmer for the same reasons as Jay 8) 8) . Small shears and easily handled; No cords; Easily cleaned...... :D :D

David Lee
04-03-2005, 07:51 PM
How's this for funny - I took my ex-girlfriend's wahl electric hairclippers when we split up ..... and have been trimming Bass gugs w/ them since 1997 !! I thought I was the only crackpot who used that kind of thing !

My home-made hair packing thingie is the shaft from a ink-pen . I also hold hair bugs under a plume of steam from a kettle after final trimming .... this makes the hair fluff out so I can see the places that need more trimming . Then I use Flexament to soak the bottom (underside) of bugs to make them bulletproof .

David

Hairstacker
04-03-2005, 08:34 PM
When tying in a bucktail tail like on a Tap's Bug, I make sure to zap-a-gap the tie-in point, otherwise the bucktail tends to start falling out after a dozen hits.

I stack deer body hair on top and on bottom of the tail tie-in point (before I proceed to spin the body) -- this does a very good job of hiding the thread wraps on the tail. I point the hair tips toward the eye of the hook -- the butts of the deer hair are much easier to distinguish from the tail than the tips of the deer hair.

I don't bother to even the tips on any hair I plan to clip anyway -- waste of time and deer hair bugs take enough time to tie as it is.

If you do find the need to even up tips for things like Muddler Minnows and Dahlberg Divers and are in the market for a new hair stacker, get a clear one if you have a choice -- much easier to see if the tips are adequately aligned, which will save you time in the long run.

I use one of those lady's eyebrow/eyelash combs to clean out the under fur in the deer body hair -- they work very well and fast and you can pick these up at Wal Mart for less than $2 - $3.

I start spinning the hair after applying two loose thread wraps and continue to spin it as I add a 3rd and 4th wrap to secure it. I then work the thread to the front and do two half hitches before spinning the next bundle.

If I'm spinning two colors of deer hair "in the round" side by side and then decide to stack hair to form a thicker head, I make sure I have also stacked hair on the same side of the hook in the previous color in order to maintain a straight line between the colors.

I use actual surgical scissors for trimming -- they're sharp as razors and the tips are so sharp you will bleed before you realize you've been poked.

I use a short section of drinking straw to help push hairs back out of the way when tying the half hitches between spun bundles of hair and when doing the final whip finish.

I pack with my fingers and have found if I twist slightly back and forth, I can pack tighter.

A very strong thread is essential for spinning deer hair -- I use Orvis G, which works very well for me. Kind of curious what threads others use. . . .

Well, that's all that comes to mind at the moment.

David Lee
04-03-2005, 08:44 PM
For deer and wool , I use flat waxed nylon and flymaster plus .... Both tye flat and are as tough as the Schobey boys :!:

How are the Jr. Bushmen doing ????? David

Hairstacker
04-03-2005, 08:57 PM
The, uh, Jr. Bushmen are doing fine, ha. :lol: Plan to get them back out in the bush soon with the weather warming up and all.
By the way, I did a scouting trip out to the Delta this morning, mainly to check on the water temperature. It was 58 degrees at the surface and the water level was high regardless of tide. Water clarity wasn't too bad though, better than I expected. Stumbled along the levy and tossed a topwater bug anyway for 3 hours. Not even a touch. Sadly, it's still just a tad too early in my home stretch for topwater bass bugging. Should be just a couple, three weeks away though.