Dubbing Help

[James Dunlop]

Hello Everyone. I was wondering if anyone can help me copy this fly.  It is a hares ear nymph I think but I cant seem to get the long spiky appearance. I bought the flies abroad and I wondered if the fur was really hare or if the hare used had longer stiffer fibres than I ones I have bought in Scotland.   James Dunlop[attachimg=1]

[lochgarryfisher]

Hello James,
always a tricky one to try and copy/work out the material from someone elses flies.
If i was to try to copy it the under body does look hares ear-ish however like you said the longer body hair does not, too long i think.
The longer hair looks as if it has been spun on in a dubbing loop possibly and it looks like natural hair, not synthetic but what it is not sure.

Sorry i can't be more helpful, good luck.

[Fishtales]

It might be body hair rather than mask. There are some areas of the mask that have long guard hairs like that but you will have to hunt for them Muskrat have long body hairs like that I think.

The knack is to make a dubbing rope using a dubbing loop with the hair rather than twist it onto the silk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acX4N4TOcHk

[bibio1]

I think this hair is from a pelt and not mixed then bagged. That will explain the density of larger protruding hairs.

Cheers

Paul

[Wildfisher]

Yes, it looks like hare body fur to me too. Mike Connor tied some great flies using it that had that same look.

[Robbie]

Those flies look pretty small, hair could have been taken from different area of the mask. You get longer hair from the area around the bridge of the nose and cheeks which is also lighter in colour. I have use hair from these areas to enhance the bugginess of flies in the past.

[lochgarryfisher]

Grotty weather today so got the vice out.
Not too dissimilar, closest i could get with the materials i have...
used pheasant tail fibres for tail
hares ear dubbing for underbody
spun a loop of hair from the very base of a squirrel tail for the longer body hairs

[James Dunlop]

Thank you everyone for your help.I will try some body fur with a dubbing loop and Im sure it will look very similar.