Wapsi Elk Body Hair

One of those materials that truly is a staple, Wapsi's Elk Body Hair is ready to tie anything from Stimulators and Elk Hair Caddis to Humpys. Wapsi's Elk Body Hair comes in high-quality patches in a wide range of colors, allowing you to imitate a ton of different patterns and insects. Elk Hair has nice hollow fibers that are very buoyant and durable which makes your flies ride nice and high in the water. From small mountain brook trout streams to massive caddis hatches, this material has you ready for it all.

Uses

Elk Body Hair is a versatile material with a ton of different uses. Elk Body Hair is a great choice for downwing flies like stoneflies, caddis, hoppers, and some small emergers, but it has many other uses as well, like its ability to build durable and buoyant extended bodies on large hex mayflies and dragon/damselflies. And while Elk Hair is often thought of when tying dry flies, it's been used to tie small versions of Bob Popovics's Bulkhead Streamers that swim like no other, and it can also be used as a wingcase for those times whenever you need your nymph to swim higher in the water column.

Comparisons

Elk Body Hair is most commonly compared to Deer Hair, and while these fibers look very similar to one another, there are some key differences that set the two apart. Both Elk Hair and Deer Hair are hollow fibers that have great natural buoyancy, but Elk Hair fibers are larger and have more air trapped in them. This makes them a great choice for tying flies that will be fished in fast water or when tying larger flies like a size 6 Stimulator. Deer Hair, on the other hand, is a great choice when tying smaller flies because you can add more fibers to the fly without the additional bulk that the thicker Elk Hair fibers would create. Also, Deer Hair is a superior choice for spinning and trimming flies like Dahlberg Divers.

Example Flies

Elk Hair gets worked into a wide variety of patterns, but some of the most famous patterns are:

• Elk Hair Caddis
• Stimulator
• Humpy