Spinning vs Dubbing Loop

If you find some of the dubbing loop techniques we reviewed in the last chapter a little daunting then possibly the items in the next few paragraphs may offer an easier if not different approach. The following sentence is a little “tease” on what we’ll cover next, “You don’t have to anchor fur in a dubbing loop to accomplish a similar result.” How so? Read on!

We should probably call this the “fur collar chapter” because we are going to show several different ways to apply fur to a Muddler Nymph similar to the one reviewed in the last chapter. We’ll start with the same body for all of our illustrations then share with you three different ways to apply the fur collar. We’ll finish this chapter by communicating a couple of ideas on adding more motion-in-the-water to this type of fly. Even though they don’t involve dubbing you may find the options valuable additions to your fly-tying bag of tricks.

Free Spinning a Fur Collar

Yup! You read the title right. We are going to “spin” fur around the hook shank similar to the way many of you spin deer, elk, antelope or caribou body hair. It really is easy to do as long as you use looser thread wraps over a bare part of the hook shank. In the illustration, Al has mounted a hook in the vise then tied a tail and body on the back two-thirds of the shank. Notice (this is important!) he left the bobbin hanging two thread turns forward from the body on the BARE part of the hook shank.

Next he has pulled about three inches of thread out of the bobbin so he has enough length make a loose loop around a clump of fur. Now Al clips a clump of fur from a Hare’s Ear mask; holds it on top and around the hook shank; and uses that three-inch section of thread to take a loose loop around the fur bundle. He makes certain to end up holding the bobbin above the hook shank as illustrated.

Now things get a bit tricky. LET GO of the bundle of fur and at the SAME TIME pull UP gently on the thread to keep the bundle from falling off the hook. Gently snug up the thread loop as illustrated below.

Before applying any tight wraps, check all sides of the hook to be sure the fur was evenly distributed around the shank. You can twist the “applied bundle” like Al is doing in the photograph below to “squiggle” the fibers in place on all sides of the hook.

Now add two or three very tight thread wraps then use a hair packer (or thumbnail) to push the fur collar back tight against the dubbed body.

For now let’s whip-finish and trim the thread then set this partly completed fly aside.

Dubbing Wax Collar

If you found the previous technique a bit of a problem then this suggestion may prove easier. Let’s start by putting another hook and body combination in the vise. Be sure to leave the thread hanging on the bare part of the hook like we suggested in the previous demonstration. Apply dubbing wax to the strand as close to the shank as possible without “gumming” up the hook with the sticky stuff.

In this illustration below Al has clipped a clump of Hare’s Ear mask fur and used the dubbing wax to “hold” the bundle in place. Notice he has spread the clump out a small amount so the wax can get a better grasp on the loose fibers.

Now he wraps the fur bundle around the hook making sure each fur-covered turn of thread is slightly forward of the previous turn Palmer style (below).

Last Al is using a hair packer (or thumbnail) to push the wrapped fibers back against the dubbed body.

If for some reason you don’t get an even distribution of fur around the hook you can easily add small clumps wherever you might need them like Al is doing in the illustration below.

When you are finished adding fur (only if needed) apply a whip-finish and set this partly completed fly aside for future reference.

Split Thread Collar

We’ll bet by now you are getting the idea and already have figured out how to use a split-thread dubbing loop to apply this fur collar. In the illustration below, Al has slipped a clump of Hare’s Ear mask fur into an un-waxed split-thread loop.

After spreading the clump out he wrapped the fur and thread combination around the hook Palmer style (no illustration); used a hair packer or thumbnail to push the fur back against the body; and applied a whip-finish. Set the partly completed fly aside for now.

Collapsing Collar

One of the problems with a fur collar as compared to a spun-hair collar is a tendency to collapse during the pull part of a retrieve OR when it is under pressure from flowing water. The following two pictures are just a couple of ideas we’d like to share with you that have worked for us in helping control the tendency of the softer fur collar to collapse.

Here we have added a bead between the body and the collar. The bead adds support to the collar to keep it from totally collapsing. If you use a brass or tungsten bead, then you are also adding weight to help sink the fly.

In the illustration we’ve added undersized dry-fly hackle wraps between the body and the fur collar to provide support without adding any additional weight. The illustration below shows how well the dry-fly hackle supports the fur collar.

We hope what we offer here gives you some ideas. Expand on them and share them with us via our website. We are always pleased to learn new techniques we in turn can share with our readers AND we’ll give you full credit for your suggestions.

Reprinted from A Dozen Dubbing Techniques: How to Tie!! with permission of the authors.

For more information and further techniques, I recommend purchasing a copy of Gretchen & Al’s book.