A natural material with a ton of different applications, Hareline’s Calf Tails have you covered whether you’re chasing bonefish or trout. These Calf Tails are high-quality and have solid fiber lengh with a nice soft feel; they’re also available in a range of natural and dyed colors to let you match whatever’s on the menu. Calf tail fibers have a nice crinkle to them that adds volume to your flies, and it also sheds water very easily and works well with various floatants when used for dry flies. These Calf Tails are packed with plenty of fibers, and you can turn to them whether you’re tying up a Parachute Adams for brook trout, a hairwing to swing on the Salmon River, or a small bonefish bug to cast at tailing fish.
Uses
Hareline’s Calf Tails are one of those materials with a ton of different uses. The most common applications of Calf Tail are wings and tails on dry flies, wings on streamers and steelhead/salmon flies, and various applications for bonefish and other saltwater patterns. And although we mentioned that Calf Tail is a great winging material on dry flies, another beneficial use it provides for dry flies is when you need to add a bright wing to make keeping track of your fly while it drifts–Hot Orange and Hot Pink are solid choices for this.
Comparisons
A similar material that also comes from the calf is Hareline’s Calf Body Hair. Like Calf Tail, the body hair is nice and soft and makes a great wing and tail material on dry flies, but since it tends to be a bit shorter than the Calf Tail fibers, it’s not a great option for wings on streamers, salmon/steelhead flies, or when used on saltwater patterns. One other difference is that Calf Body Hair tends to be a bit straighter with less crinkle than the fibers on a Calf Tail.
Example Flies
Crazy Charlie
House and Lot Variant
Parachute Adams
Royal Wulff