Odd tying material or equipment

[bdpeters]

I have started to notice that fly tyers are a resourceful bunch and I have started looking at all kinds of things in a different light.

What kind of strange unusual or downright nasty material or equipment do you use for fly tying?

I have not used anything really weird yet exept trying to use my own hair for dubbing( still working on it, it is not working to well for some reason). The one thing I did find useful was that I used an old baby bottle drying rack to hold spools of thread and other materials on a spool.

Brian

[repair]

All fisherman are like that.
I make my own lures and jigs and I have all sorts of strange stuff I use.
Not to say some of my fishing gear is not normal eather.

[JoeW]

LOL! I gotta think first of my "blanky"! Years ago, we had a dark orange blanket for on our bed. As it got old, it became the picnic blanket, then when it was just about ready to be thrown out.... I learned from a fly tying friend of mine, that adding just a little "orange" to the pale yellow body of the Sulfur Fly made it a closer imitation! Dah dah! The orange blanket was perfect and when "plucked" made ex dubbing when mixed with pale yellow! Still have the blanket- lifetime supply!

Rumor has it, that I also stopped along a quiet country road to cut the tail off a roadkilled raccoon. All I can say is why did that lonely road suddenly become as busy as an expressway! I kept pretending to be checking my tire- one guy stopped and asked if I needed help! LOL!

And a lot of my fly tying material comes from craft and fabric stores! Lot's of great unique stuff there! Just watch out if you walk around with a 6-foot PINK feather "Boa"! Lots of 'funny" stares- I just said "I need it for my dance costume".

And of course a duck hunting buddy who sent me a half dozen mallard wings. Put them away in plastic bags for a couple months. Whoa- bad move! When I finally dug them out, the bags were crawling with little white maggots and there were hundreds of little dead flies and critters in there! Feathers were mostly still good though!

I'll probably come up with more later!

And bd-- human hair is "hair"- tough to dub into a body. Need "fur". But... if you've got enough hair- it would sure make nice wings of an EHC. Have to call it BDHC!

Have fun! Best---- JoeW

Oh yea- almost forgot the 100 year old dilapidated polar bear and Wolf mounts that I have pieces of!

[bdpeters]

jeez Joe I almost lost my lunch from laughing when i read the part about the pink feather Boa. I can just picture it.

Hobby Lobby has alot of cool stuff. I buy my wire and foam there along with some feathers. They hada tanned rabbit fur that was pretty large for probably cheaper than buying a hares mask. I cant quite bring myself to snipping parts off of roadkill yet unless its real fresh

[dugger]

I got some fresh turkey feathers! I'm gonna try those with some German Shepard hair walaa instant brown crusher !

[KevinLee]

I have a buddy who has bobbers made from turkey feathers. I can't remember if they are tail feathers or the bigger wing feathers though. He swears by them for pan fish.

[KevinLee]

Oh N I have used pomeranian fur after trimming the dog lmao

[toadfrog]

Clipped the hair off a persian cats butt once . Made me a CAT - FISH JIG

[sharps4590]

You're exactly right bd!!!!! I love to hunt almost as much as I love to fish so I get a lot of stuff free.....kinda....that I would have to otherwise purchase. Deer, elk and antelope hair, (antelope isn't very good), squirrel tails, turkey feathers, I kept the entire carcass from the last Ruffed Grouse I killed, feathers I find in the woods except for those I know are from a raptor....ain't about to get caught with them and especially using them on flys. We have two Mininature American Eskimo dogs and they are snow white so I use their fur as is or dye it, I raid my wifes craft/sewing room occasionally and like Joe I've been know to pick up hair from road kill. My new dog, Buck, is kind of a strawberry blonde and I've been eyeing his long hair too!! Anything is fair game!!!!

[JoeW]

... feathers I find in the woods except for those I know are from a raptor....ain't about to get caught with them and especially using them on flys.

That is a real good point in this thread, Sharpy! Be careful with "found feathers"! I heard a story about a lady that collected feathers from around her yard and birdfeeders and when she had enough, she glued them into frames and made pictures out of them. Well, she had so many she decided to sell a couple at a garage sale. Somehow the EPA got wind of it and showed up, took her stuff and fined here like $500! Not only raptors, but songbirds, too! And you guys "grooming" your dogs and cats--- watch out for the SPCA! I'm kidding on that one, I think?shrug Just have fun! Best----- JoeW

[bdpeters]

I got some fresh turkey feathers! I'm gonna try those with some German Shepard hair walaa instant brown crusher !

good idea. the crusher is a pattern that i want to try.

[bdpeters]

Oh N I have used pomeranian fur after trimming the dog lmao


Cul De Pooch

[JoeW]

LOL! What was that old commercial on TV, I can't even remember what it was for---- where the two guys fishing in a boat hear an old lady yelling from a dock- "My dog! My dog fell in the water and a big giant fish grabbed it and pulled it under!!!".

And the two fishermen look at each other, then one yells out "Just what color WAS that dog, lady?"

Loved it! I can see it now- we're gonna have flies named like "Golden retriever", "Mr. Snuggles", "Pumpkin Pomeranian", and "Miss Kitty", etc. Double LOL! Best---- JoeW