Hareline Elk Mane

Hareline’s Elk Mane gives you nice long fibers that are easy to work with and make for great wings on dry flies. Elk Mane comes from the neck area of male and female elk, and it doesn’t quite have the hollow attributes of deer hair, which makes it a great choice for down-winged dry flies like stoneflies and caddis. Naturally buoyant and quite durable, Elk Mane will keep your flies riding high in the water, while its beautiful natural coloring adds appeal to any pattern you put it in. From October caddis emergences in the middle of Pennsylvania to the famous salmonfly hatch of the west, Elk Mane is sure to help you find success when the fish are looking up.

Uses

Elk Mane is a versatile material commonly used to tie wings on dry flies, usually those with a down wing, and it also makes a solid tailing material for larger dry flies like drakes. This hair is great for patterns like crickets, hoppers, stoneflies, caddis, and dobsonflies, and it’s an equally good material for tying heads on your dry flies in the “bullet” style.

Comparisons

Another commonly used material for wings on dry flies is Hareline’s Premo Deer Hair Strips. These strips come from the white tailed deer and have fibers that are more hollow and generally shorter than Elk Mane Hair. Hareline’s Premo Deer Hair can be used to tie smaller dry fly wings, and it’s a very good material when spinning hair for things like the Goddard Caddis and even larger poppers, while Elk Mane lacks the hollow characteristics necessary for this application. Both of these two materials are fine additions to the tying arsenal, but if you’re looking for something with less hollow fibers or need to tie larger flies, then Elk Mane is the better choice; on the other hand, if you want hollow fibers that flare easily, then the Premo Deer Hair is the better option.