Might’ve been the biggest breach of trust ever

Remember that especially gentle and reassuring voice I used when I mentioned, “don’t fear dyeing your precious fur and fibers, as everything is useful for something …”

Boy was that a windy.

I’m pawing through a drawer full of goodies and see that dusty plastic bag scrunched under all that marabou, and naturally figured it had to be those long lost bucktails I simply knew I had …

Rather than the burst of bright colors I was expecting, I get the Color that Cannot be Used, a reminder of my greatest fur mistake …

I’d spent the better part of six months higrading all the shops in San Francisco for their best bucktails – each with hair damn near six inches long, as I was prepared to tie a big fistful of striper flies.

I needed a dark olive layer for the Anchovy imitation I had in mind and tossed three-quarters of those tails into the pot with a brand new dye and too much heat …

Pumpkin with Olive tips

… which yielded shrunken pumpkin orange bucktail with olive tips. Twenty years later I’ve not found a use for a single hair – despite fishing fresh, salt, and everything in between.

I know. You’re sitting there saying, “CRAYfish …uhm, STONEfly dry …uhm, no …uhm, WAIT …”

Just like I did.

14 thoughts on “Might’ve been the biggest breach of trust ever

  1. Simon Graham

    Well I could quite easily see that colour blending wonderfully with Olive and yellow for some of my pike imitations KB. Care to offload a tail???.Ehh!…Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned Pike!

  2. Peter

    As will pike. Trust me, a cream/yellowish underlayer, this on top and a tiny bit of structured golden flash. Tench imitation done. Pike will eat.

  3. Joe Eberle

    You could always try peddling them to your local hair salon. Maybe trade them for some hackle.

  4. craig

    size 2 stinger hook, a leather tail, a bit of flash, tie that gorgeous hair on like a thunder creek streamer…ah perfection.

    bass will shimmer the pond with their paroxysms of delight.

    honest!

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