A not too complicated mouse pattern, perfect for big arctic trouts and other predators. Perfect if you want to make your dryflyfishin an extreme sport!
Knut's Moose Hair Mouse
Hook: A large wide gape hook
Tail: A strip of leather, I use the bare skin left from a piece of deer hair dyed brown. Legs: 2 mm foam brown or pink Body and whiskers: Moose hair Eyes: Black foam
If you for example use a 5 centimeters long hook, the body will then be approximately 7 centimeters long. This is because you want to stack the first bunches of hair and tie them, so that you won't have to trim them; they will naturally get the half-moon shape that is desired. The first bunch of hairs is tied in so that they reach about 2 cm behind the hook. The next bunch is also stacked and the tips should reach slightly shorter than the previous bunch. Do this as many times as necessary to form a dense enough butt for the mouse. I do trim off, and tie down the waste ends when making the butt section.
When I have covered close to the 1/4 of the hook shank with only the tip end of the hairs, I then start the conventional spinning technique, using both ends of the hair to build up a dense enough body. Moose hair is a lot stiffer and coarser than common deer hair; but it's often cheaper and also floats well, even if not spun / built as dense as our common deer hair.
And remember; a mouse don't swim on top of the surface.
NOTE: I plan on making a step-by-step tutorial on this fly in the future.
All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.