Deer Hair Diver

[Mike McKenzie]

Nice hairstackin' Hairstacker.....

Hey Fats,
Rubber legs add a lot of life to them bugs for sure...But they are a "pain in the you know what" to tie in...



Mike

[Fats]

Ahhh... the sweet frustration. I have a Dave Whitlock VHS tape where he shows a technique of taking a largish needle and using it to "Thread" the legs through the body of a hair bug. I've done it on a couple of flies and it has worked out ok.

Jimmy Nix was good at trimming up bugs without cutting off the rubber legs as well.

My wife swears by bugs with rubber legs. She things they pack "mojo" which bass find endearing!

[Mike McKenzie]

Ahhh... the sweet frustration. I have a Dave Whitlock VHS tape where he shows a technique of taking a largish needle and using it to "Thread" the legs through the body of a hair bug. I've done it on a couple of flies and it has worked out ok.

I never could do the needle thing....
I just tie 'em in with an overhand knot on the hook shank...When trimmin' the hair I'll pull 'em out of the way and hold 'em in place with a small alligator clip. Nothin' I hate worse than one little slip-up and a leg or two (or all) are gone!

[Steve Potter]

Mike

You like this diver? I tie them the same way with a overhand knot. Have not lost much rubber to the fish but the razor has a few!!!!

See you on the delta
Steve

[Mike McKenzie]

Steve,

Is that a "deep throat" diver? This year we've gotta' get together..You know where!!

Mike

[EricO]

Hairstacker, your name fits to a tea. That is one nice tie. I'll take on
most difficult flies, but that one looks tough. And the tutorials I have
found are quite long, thus my apprehension.

What size hook did you use for that fly?

EO

[Hairstacker]

Steve P., Fats, Mike M., EO, thanks, really appreciate the very kind comments!

Mike M. -- Outstanding fly you tied there! The eyes definitely give it a more complete appearance and now you've got me looking into my rubber legs collection. Although I can't see Steve's fly tucked in the back of that bass, I have no doubt it's world-class, as Steve's reputation always precedes him.

EO -- The fly I pictured is tied on a size 2/0 Gamakatsu B10S hook. It is exactly the same size and configuration as a size 2 Tiemco TMC8089 hook, although the Gamakatsu's wire is slighly thicker and stiffer. I use both interchangeably for these flies.

For me, the most challenging part of tying these flies is getting the different colors to line up well and clean and have them appear where I intended them to. But aside from colors, tying basic deer hair divers is not that difficult -- if you know basic fly tying and can hold a bunch of hair against the hook with one hand while you toss a few thread wraps around it and cinch it down tight without letting the hair move, well then you've already got what it takes. I say, give it a go!