At a Glance: Hairs & Tails
Hairs and tails are instrumental for tying flies, and we carry those from familiar fly shop suppliers Wapsi, Hareline Dubbin, and others. Calf tails and bucktails find perfect applications as wings for dry flies like the Royal Wulff and as winging and body material on many streamer patterns such as the Clouser Minnow. Deer and elk hair are popular winging materials for many dry fly patterns, including the Elk Hair Caddis and Comparadun series of flies. Many fly tiers favor dyed deer hair for “spinning” bugs to catch bass and sunfish. Other dry fly patterns call for moose body or mane hair tailing and winging on some streamers. Many streamer patterns use winging from woodchuck, coyote, and black bear hair, which also can be employed as tailing on some nymphs.