Craft fur is arguably one of the better synthetics available to the fly tyer. It has properties that many other materials simply do not possess. It breathes for one, and is rather durable for its shape and size, is rather soft and wispy so it is at the mercy of the current when fished. This gives craft fur a rather lifelike appearance in the water that many synthetics just don’t have, thus a stark advantage compared to others. You can get motion out of this stuff on the pause, which can trigger a response from fish even when you aren’t imparting action. If you haven’t got one, I highly recommend purchasing a flea comb for removing underfur. This comb comes in rather handy cleaning deer hair and other furs and is a very valuable tool that you can add to your desk rather inexpensively. I have been using Safari Flea Combs for years now and I highly recommend them.
But, craft fur also has some nuance when tying with it that can be frustrating to the tyer if you aren’t familiar with it. Some brands can be rather slippery and easily fall off the hook when tied in place. Because it is light and soft, it can also foul very easily if steps aren’t taken to support it, and can collapse rather easily, which if you are trying to build a larger profiled fly will require some resourceful engineering into the pattern.
Not all Craft Fur is created equally either. I use Craft Fur from 3 major sources, and as you can see from the picture they have their pro’s and con’s. Hareline Extra Select Craft Fur has the widest range of colors and is relatively easy to locate. It is a good quality fur, but although it comes in the most range of colors you get the least amount of material per package and sometimes ends up having the shortest fibers. Semperfli has a pretty wide array of colors to choose from including the most barred options minus a couple colors. They provide you the second most amount of material per package and is rather long and consistent. Fulling Mill hands down has the superior product in this category. Not only is it the longest and fullest but they give you the most in a package. Fulling Mill’s however does seem to have the most underfur which often gets discarded, and they offer the least number of color variations. But, if they have what you need for a color, then I would spend the money and purchase their craft fur every time as it is in my opinion the best.
In this month’s tying tips installment, I will go over not one, but two tips you can implement to decrease or eliminate the likelihood of either of the highlighted problems craft fur can provide.