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3. Snowshoe Question

I've typically used fur from the middle and back on the pad of the snowshoe foot, but last night I was looking at the long toe fur and thinking it would make good comparadun wings if it floats as well as the other fur. Has anybody used this fur before, and if so, what were the results?

well, that shows how much i know about fly tying with rabbits' feets. only ever used the longest hair from around the toes, and it floats just fine!

I'm not sure you're that off, Casey. I did find one video on Youtube that called for the toe fur. It was to tie an emerger, though. I am finding that the fur from the toes is harder to compress. Other than that it's working fine on the flies I've tried it on. Thanks.

P.S. Most seem to prefer the fur from the middle of the foot, picking out some underfur and some guard hairs. It is a bit easier to work with.

I'm bummed out on snowshoe feet. Shot a monster snowshoe, from about belly button high to dragging the ground. Huge feet, and lots of nice white, dirty white hair. My flies sunk, and then I learned I had shot a type of Jack Rabbit that turns white in the Winter.

Sorry to hear that, Sayfu, but Baxter House Outfitters has nice feet for a good price, and you don't have to skin the rabbit. I've had excellent luck with snowshoe; it floats forever if you get the right fur.

Being an avid hunter who owns two fine bird dogs, it was embarrassing at not being able to identify my query. I hunted snowshoes as a teenager in Michigan near Alpina, but had no knowledge of that particular Jack Rabbit here in Idaho. I have a room full of all kinds of fly tying material, but no Snowshoe Rabbit feet. And I do fish the comparadun type flies a lot...have to get a pair.

Louis, that long toe fur is very, very hard to work, especially on small flies. It's coarse and slippery.
Bruce

Just watched a U-tube on a snowshoe emerger for the lt. bodied bugs...Shuck, thin abdomen, snowshoe tied forward, then a bumped up thorax, pull up the Snowshoe, and wrap the dubbing up onto the wing to keep it standing upright, finish off and done. Snowshoe actually tied forward, and butts trimmed, and wrapped down first.

Ken Tutalo at Baxter House Outfitters just got back to me, and he says to use the hair from the middle back and avoid the toe hair for comparadun wings. Perhaps toe hair can work for some emergers, but I'm finding that using the middle fur, removing some underfur and some guard hairs gives a pretty good wing on comparaduns. I also came across a Tom Rosenbauer caddis pattern that calls for sparse underwing using toe hair from a snowshoe foot and a CDC overwing. What are others out there doing?