Anyone Tie with Bison?

[Eastside]

I accepted my brother-in-law’s offer for bison underfur. He lives near a ranch that raises bison and the farmer picks some of the hair off his fences before the birds get it. I let him know that I’ll take it. Any recommendations for how to use it? There are a few posts on the internet for bison fly-tying and one suggested it makes good sculpin heads. Interested in seeing if there are others who have experience tying flies with it. Looks like he has way more than I can use in my remaining lifetime.

 

[Aufwuchs]

One of my kids brought home a wad of bison fur she found in Yellowstone. I thought about using some for fly tying but it was full of bugs so we threw it out.

 

[RCF]

My BIL uses it for sculpin heads. He lives in MT and works well most places he fishes there.

 

[FinLuver]

To me, it appears to be “wool-ish” in nature.
Sculpins
Bulkheads
Leeches

 

[RCF]

To me, it appears to “wool-ish” in nature.
Sculpins
Bulkheads
Leeches

I was just going to add (you beat me to it - great call!): The one my BIL ties is very similar to a wool head. Big, ugly, thick and heavy when wet.

 

[kmudgn]

The bison looks like "Congo Hair" material to me. Which is used in some baitfish patterns. I have never used it myself, but have seen it on the rack in a few shops. I suspect the Bison might work instead.

 

[FinLuver]

I would suspect that bison hair (under hair) would have lanolin waterproofing properties.

“Lanolin's role in nature is to protect wool and skin from climate and the environment.”

Great floating material maybe, so I am thinking a dragonfly nymph with a trimmed hair body would be ideal.

 

[Eastside]

Thanks for the input. When I get it in hand, I’ll try a few patterns with it and let you know.

 

[Dogsnfish]

A company was giving away samplers of the stuff at an expo a few years ago. I grabbed some but have not used it much. The stuff I have is very coarse, would work for big bushy patterns.

 

[Sam Roffe]

Bison fur makes some real nice warm hats, socks, and gloves for winter fishing.. I was introduced to bison wool by an old family friend.

 

[RCF]

If you have too much hair, you could always glue it to the bison in another recent thread to make it very realistic...