Smoky Mountain Candy help
 

I have been wanting to tie up some of Walter Babb's Smoky Mountain Candy flies but had a question about the tailing material. The article on LRO mentions "stiff deer hair from the back or groundhog tail". I've got a good amount of deer hair, mainly for tying comparaduns and a small patch labeled "woodchuck" which I think is what Yankees call groundhogs :) What do you all use for Wulff style flies when you want them to float the best? Any help appreciated.
Thanks,
Jed Green

Jed, pretty sure i've always used 4-5 pieces of moose hair.
Then again, I don't rely on tailing material to add much floatation.

Jed,
The very tip end section of Calf tails (Kip Tails) is very hard and will not absorb water easily. It usually has some curl or twist to it and makes a great tailing material. It is a good substitute for Deer hair flies. It makes excellent Wulff style flies.
Hugh

Granny, do you know if you are using moose mane or moose body hair? I ask because I tied some Thunderheads with 5-6 moose mane hairs and the tails seemed to not want to float, just busted through the surface of the water.

Hugh, Great to hear from you! The Blackbird has been a staple ever since I took your advanced nymphing class. I have never tried calftail. I'll try that. Any experience with deer/moose/elk hair for tails? If so, what specific types?
Thanks Again,
Jed