Snowshoe Advice

[rabmax]

Hello all just received an order of snowshoe feet bought light dun / medium dun / tan/ black /& natural cream so this should keep me going for a while .I have never used snowshoe before so how do people harvest it from the foot .I have read it's best to break the toes first so you can get your scissors in to cut the dense hair near the bone.How do you go about evening it up for winging & do you use the whole of the foot bottom for winging. I have been inspired by this pattern by North Country Angler http://www.flyforums.co.uk/fly-tying...e-emerger.html .I want to tie a few of these up in different sizes but also with different body colors.If tying different body colours do you need to use a certain colour snowshoe wing. Does the wing colour matter to the trout.Any advice welcome before i tie loads up for next year. Cheers

[maharg]

I just cut into the foot at a point were I like the look of the hair. Brush out any underfur and keep as a dubbing.
Dont think it matters to much about the colour of the wing to the trout?????? A light and dark wing show up better/worse in different light conditions. Also a white or very light wing can get lost in bubbly water, better to use a darker wing here.
ATB
Graham

[Buzz]

I would try and match the natural as best as possible.
With snowhare the body sinks a bit and i would therefore err on the side of caution.
All these people say it doesn't matter, if that's the case show me the successful river patterns where it intentionally does not match. Only one recently has come to light, that's J Lucus's HE F fly with the pink wing which he recons is a trigger, personally i have yet to be convinced that will stand the time, i hope it does though its dead easy to see

[t1978d]

Grab the two outside toes and pull apart or get a blunt blade and slide between the toes. I wouldn't worry too much about getting the tips even, it's one of those materials that doesn't look to bad when cut (it breaks easy against your thumb nail also which gives a better look than a scissors cut).

[rabmax]

After you select & cut your snowshoe from the foot & brush out any underfur then offer it up to the hook if the wing is too long do you tie it in long then trim the tips so you are getting the denser fur from nearer the bone on the foot in the wing .Cheers

[t1978d]

From what I've seen on step by steps I don't think the aim is to get the dense part into the wing. Any I've used tended to have fairly uniform length.
Have a look at these tutorials and you'll get the idea

YouTube - Tying Fran Betters' Usual with Davie McPhail

YouTube - Tying Fran Betters' Usual with Davie McPhail

Print Bunny Dun

YouTube - Snowshoe Rabbit Sulpher Emerger - July 2008 TPO Fly of the Month

YouTube - Snowshoe Rabbit Sulpher Emerger - July 2008 TPO Fly of the Month

[Buzz]

Thanks for the links T1978d, i like the TPO guys style.

[t1978d]

Originally Posted by Buzz

Thanks for the links T1978d, i like the TPO guys style.

It looks like a good template; change color, size etc
Same with the bunny dun, more or less a neater version of the usual.

[North Country Angler]

You need a mix of longer guard hairs and the fine stuff nearer the root. It's a bit of a trial and error thing - I've been using them for a while and I still make cockups occasionally and tie one which sinks like a stone the balance between reliable floatation and an overly bulky abdomen is fine indeed and takes some practice....well worth the effort though, trust me.

Buzz is correct, the material tied as a wing produces a low riding, hackleless fly and as such you want to be using a colour of fur which blends in to the colour scheme of the natural. Dyed light dun usually does it for me.

ATB,
Matt

[rabmax]

Hello all been tying up a few snowshoe flies North Country Anglers LDO syle & Buzz style Bread & Butter olive style with Coq De Leon tail but with a snowshoe wing instead of Cdc.But after watching the TPO video i would like to try some synthetic materials for tails & shucks on some of the flies .I was read about using Zelon or Poly yarn i have some FunkySilky in Grey Dun that might do for some.What synthetic materials work good for tails & shucks can you get by with just a few colours & how do you decide on what colour to use for a certain fly.On floatability i have a snowshoe emerger that was treated with Water Shed that's been floating in a glass of water for 4 days & its still floating like a cork. Cheers