Weasel is a very common animal to come across when walking the arctic outdoors, and some years there can be plenty of them. Although the little furry fellas are cute, the are known to take their liberty in birds nests and eat the eggs. For this reason they are legal for hunters to take down during hunting season. Their pelts are not to hard to come by, and if you, like me, know someone who hunts them, you can simply get them for free and skin them yourself. During the winter they are entirely white, besides the black tip on their tail, the skin can easily be dyed, and is a great dubbing for nymphs and wetflies, as well as on dryflies, like I've done on my pattern, the Ostara's Fly. Their black tail is also great for making tails on dryflies, and in many ways superior to the the more common hackle fibers, as these hairs are slightly wavy, they don't stick as well together, and therefore better represents the spreading of the mayfly's tail, and also gives great support in regards of floatability.
Weasel & Quill
Hook: Standard dry fly hook size 14 to 18
Thread: Black
Wings: Medium dun hackle tips
Tail: Guard hair taken from the black tip of a weasel's tail
Body: Stripped peacock quill
Hackle: 3 turns of black rooster hackle
Thorax: Black poly dubbing
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All photos are taken by me and shall not be used without permission.