Essential Tools for Deer Hair Bass Flies

So you want to tie deer hair bass flies? Be careful, its highly rewarding and possibly more addicting than any other style of fly tying. Deer hair has been used in tying flies of various styles for a long time. Dry flies utilize deer hair to imitate wings and assist with floatation. When used in bass flies, deer hair is used as a sculpting medium while also providing floatation. The tier attaches large amounts of hair to a hook creating a big hair ball. Imagine a sculptor piling clay on top of clay to create a big mass of earth to carve into. Thats what happens with a bass bug. The more hair and more tightly packed hair gets on the hook, the more material the tier has to carve into and sculpt the fly. In this article, I will review the necessary and essential tools needed in order to create a solid fishable bass fly. I will also throw in a bonus tool that I have found extremely useful in getting all of my flies to be uniform.

Good deer belly hair is coarse, thick, long, and full of air.

Deer hair. It seems obvious, but not all deer hair is equal. What is crucial is getting quality deer hair that has thick, hollow fibers full of air. Buck tail will not do. I repeat, buck tail will not work. What you’ll need is deer belly hair or spinning hair. The most consistent quality hair I get comes from Nature’s Spirit or from Saint Marie’s Flies. Buying from your local shop is always best, because you can get your hands on the material before purchasing. If you don’t have that luxury, however, sticking to the above mentioned brands will be sufficient.

A simple fine tooth comb will help get all the guard hairs of your clump of deer hair.

Get a comb to pick out all the small guard hairs in the deer hair. A dog lice comb is not necessary. All you’ll need is a fine tooth comb you most likely have kicking around your home somewhere.

A large hook gape and long shank are the key elements for a good bass bug hook.

Hooks are another obvious requirement. My favorite hooks to use are the Ahrex Trout Predator Streamer Light TP605 or the Gamakatsu B10S. You wont go wrong with either one. If you don’t have those, there are other good options on the market, just be sure they have a wide gape between the shank and the hook point, and that there is enough shank to tie on a few clumps of hair.

Veevus GSP is the best thread for tying deer hair bass flies.

Thread is also important. Weak and thin thread will snap and cause frustration which can be easily avoided. My favorite thread is Veevus GSP 150 D. There are other brands and styles that work, however, this has been my favorite and most consistent thread. You can’t go wrong here.

These three tools are always close at hand.

Stacker and packer. There are many different brands, styles, shapes, sizes, colors, etc. on the market. I will not review them all, but have used many, and these are my favorite. The Renzetti hair stacker is large and made in the USA. Thats all I require for a stacker. My favorite packer is also a Renzetti product and is one of the best on the market. The barrel fits perfectly in my hand, it has an interchangeable opening, and is made of solid aluminum. This packer allows me to get good pressure on the hair, where I need it, in order to pack it tightly. The other tool I love is the MN Fly Tool. This is a translucent barrel hand tool that allows me to push/pack back hair all while being able to see what I’m doing. It doubles as a whip finish. I also use it for many other styles of fly thing so it is versatile.

Hair scissors make all the different when cutting through large clumps of deer hair.

Get the right scissors. Razor scissors are not it. Hair scissors will make your life easier. Hair scissors have small serrations on the blades that help grip the hairs so they can be cut cleanly. I have been using Loon’s hair scissors for many yeas now and they are a great bang for your buck. Curved scissors can help make rounding the edges of flies easier. I would recommend picking up a pair of these too.

This is my go to super glue.

Super glue is your friend. While super glue is not a necessary component of tying deer hair bass bugs, using it will help strengthen the fly and get more life out of it. I like the gel kind because it gives me a little more control on with where I place it and a little longer set time which I find helpful when tying.

Gillette, the best a fly tier can get. Well they are my favorite anyways. Cheap and plentiful.

Razor blades and critical. There are countless brands on the market, pick whichever one you want, as long as its flexible. The safety razors made for shaving are the best. They are wicked sharp, so be careful. Theses are needed to get the shape of the fly. Cutting can be done solely with scissors, but you’ll find you’ll get much better results with a razor blade.

These templates have been helpful in cutting a clean and consistent shape.

Speaking of consistent results, the last item on this list is not necessary, however it goes along way towards consistency. When cutting poppers, I started out by using a disk I shaped with scissors and a razor blade. I used tough plastic from peanut butter jars. After a while, however, I found Deal Industries online and they were able to 3-D print them en mass with exact measurements and all the disks being exactly the same. They attach to the eye of the hook and allow me to bend the razor in a uniform way that helps make each cut smooth.

I hope this beginner list of tools helps you dive into the black hole of tying deer hair bass flies. While the learning process can be challenging at first, with practice, you’ll find great satisfaction in tying a deer hair fly that catches fish. For more info on when you may want to fish deer hair flies for bass, check out my article about when and where to fish them. Good luck!

Cheers,

Allen