Hair & Fur: Fly Tying & Decorative Supplies, Materials & Tools

The Caddis Fly Shop understands the proper applications of the whole range of fly tying materials, fly tying supplies, fly tying hair and fur, fly tying hackles, and fly tying feathers -- and we stock fly tying kits, and fly tying hair and fur to tie wings, tails, and bodies of freshwater flies, saltwater flies, steelhead flies, salmon flies, bass flies, pike flies, tuna flies, and flying-fish flies. No kidding. Ya think all deer hair is created equal? Nope. Same with Elk hair. Different flies have very specific requirements for the hair used to construct wings. Small dry flies can not be tied with Moose body hair, Elk mane, or Spinning Deer hair. Big steelhead skaters or bass bugs just can’t be tied with short fine deer hair. An Elk Hair Caddis is an effective and relatively simple fly to tie, but starting with hair that is too short and fine, or too coarse and long is a formula for disaster. Here are just a few examples of what we mean and the materials we stock. If you’re not sure what you need, call or email, and we will be happy to help select the hair or fur that is best suited to for your fly tying needs.

Deer hair is by far superior to Elk hair for tying Comparadun flies but Comparadun wings require very fine hair that will stack well and flare properly. This cannot be accomplished with most Elk hair, and not all deer hair is suitable for Comparadun winging. The deer hair we package for Comparadun wings is selected from the portion of the most suitable hides harvested at the proper season – and it just the right stuff for your Comparadun wings.

Hair selected for spinning may be deer or elk, but the result obtained from each of these hairs is very different. Cow Elk Spinning hair is harvested from late season animals and is perfect for spinning large, tough, durable flies and skaters. Spinning Deer hair has finer hair shafts, spins easily, packs tightly, and will make great wings and trimmed heads on Muddlers and Mouse flies. ... view more

Humpy Hair is deer hair that is longer than Comparadun winging material and shorter and a little coarser than spinning deer hair.

Natural white Deer Belly hair is perfect for tying White Bucktail wings, small parachute posts, and for spinning natural white bodies and heads on flies.

Moose Body Hair is tougher than nails. This hair stacks beautifully to make tails, tail brushes, and will also spin to tie steelhead skaters and to provide bulk under materials like ostrich plumes on Intruder flies.

Elk Mane hair is very long and offers exceptional winging materials for giant dry stoneflies if you are tying the big boys for the Deschutes or Montana.

Moose mane is very long with white and grey base and dark grey to black tips; this hair is still one of the popular traditional materials for tying mosquito and other “quill” style dry and wet flies.

Elk rump hair is also long and tough. It will spin to make rough bodied bigs for Skating steelhead, luring 200 lb. Taimen, and tying wings on big juicy dry stoneflies.

Bleached Elk hair or Bull Elk with ginger tips is our go-to for tying light-winged Elk Hair Caddis making the high floating fly easier to see during low light fishing conditions.

Arctic Fox, Squirrel tails, Calf tails, and Eumer Finn Raccoon Fur are all examples of hair with special application as winging or hackling materials for salmon, steelhead, and Intruder style flies. Check out our selection – we have all the good stuff.

We offer free shipping on orders over $25 and no sales tax.