"riverman" wrote

The hare fur was all spikey and
made them rather bulbous

After years of tying I recently learned a new trick ( for this old dog )
For best slimness and control over dubbing, don't make a big effort to spin
it on the thread before starting to wrap. Just get it started and then the
first bit caught on the hook. Then as each wrap is completed use your
materials hand to tighten the noodle before the next wrap. This trick,
courtesy of a Rene Harrop video, makes it possible to dub MUCH tighter and
slimmer noodles and sculpt far nicer bodies, regardless of dubbing used.

FWIW, I have pretty much abandoned the GRHE and have replaced it in my box
of generic "could be most anything" ties with the Dave's Fox Squirrel ....
just seems to work better for me. I use a blend of natural belly fur and
synthetic antron blend the same color for the abdomen, and on smaller sizes
I usually pluck out most the guard hairs from the back fur used on the
thorax to help keep it from getting too spikey and large, leaving only a few
for "legs" and trying, always trying, to remember that "sparse = better"
.... as close to a truism as I can think of in fly tying and fishing