spinning deer hair

[cwn]

Can anyone describe an easy way to spin deer hair bodies.

[striperbum]

There are a few good fly tying videos out there on "how to spin deer hair" that will help you more than any book or description made here. The one by Chris Helm is quite good. Spinning deer hair is without a doubt one of the hardest techniques for the fly tyer to learn. I would also suggest joining a fly tying club or maybe take a few lessons from a skilled fly tyer to help improve your skills. Lastly, remember to practice - practice - practice....
Good luck
Rich

[Jstand3]

I haven't been tying long, but I read an article on it that gave a technique which seems to work reasonably well. I have had some flies come out well, and some which are, lets just say, ugly (although that was while trying to use a cone type head for weight). I have found that if I keep the designs simple it works out better.

-The first step is to select a bundle of hair about the thickness of a pencil,

-lay it across the hook so the hook is perpendicular to the hair, should look like a cross with the hook under the middle of the hair.

-then to hold it make 2 loose wraps around the hook and hair and then pull tight to spin the hair.

- make one more tight wrap to lock the hair in place, if you use more wraps its tough to keep the hair pushed tight and you end up with gaps.

-Pack the hair back and then start the next bundle of hair and repeat the steps until you reach the eye of the hook.

I find the toughest part is keeping the hair pushed back while spinning the next bundle. I have also found that if it seems like the hair isn't spinning completely around that I need to increase the size of the bundle. Once you have completed the fly and tied off the thread then you can trim off the deer hair. I prefer to use a double edged razor blade for trimming. Not the safest option, but if you're careful it is the easiest way to trim it close to lead and glass eyes.

Good Luck
Joe

[fishkev]

The Best advice anyone can give you is to remember that if you actually spin the hair, you've gone completely wrong. Flaring or stacking are more accurate terms. The master of "spinning" deer hair; Bill Catherwood explains this in terms that anyone can understand in the video where he explains the Hair Headed Mullets and Mackerals(put out by the Hooked on Fly Tying Series);