Ice Dubbing Hare's Ear?

wwpalum

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Do you think that ice dubbing would work for a hare's ear? I was thinking of tryin it out but didn't want to waste the time or materials if it has already been disproven. Thanks
 

comeonavs

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One of my favorite patterns

Rainbow Scud with Orange ICE dub collar. Tungsten bead and 10 wraps .10 lead underneath. Great searching pattern

It is basically a hares ear but I used red pheasant for the tail and the above tweaks

 

moucheur2003

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Worth a try. If the Surveyor nymph (hare's ear tied with rainbow sow scud dubbing) and the Rainbow Warrior and Lightning Bug nymphs (tied with holo silver or pearl tinsel) work, why not one tied with Ice Dub? That stuff sells for a reason.
 

MoscaPescador

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Do you think that ice dubbing would work for a hare's ear? I was thinking of tryin it out but didn't want to waste the time or materials if it has already been disproven. Thanks
I would tie up two flies in your favorite Hare's Ear Nymph size, and experiment. In reality, that is not a lot of material. If it works, that's awesome. If it doesn't, just strip off the material, and reuse the hook for something else.

Dennis
 

moucheur2003

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Combine the best of both:

Hare'e Ice Dub


PT/TB :thumbsup:
This is great stuff. I have it in a bunch of colors but my favorites are hare's ear, olive, olive-brown, and black. Makes tying nymphs quick and easy: Pop a bead on a hook, lash on a few wisps of feather for a tail, dub a shaggy body, and you're done. The mixed-in ice dub serves the same purpose as a tinsel rib on a standard tie, and the spiky guard hairs serve as hackle/legs. If you want a hot spot tie them with fluorescent orange or chartreuse or yellow or pink thread and leave a visible wrap right behind the bead.

There are lots of other creative things you can do with both Hare's Ice and the original Ice Dub. However (as I said up above), if what you're asking is whether it makes sense to tie a standard GRHE pattern substituting pure Ice Dub in the hare's ear color in lieu of the natural fur, I would think that would make a good tie too, since similar patterns like the Surveyor and Rainbow Warrior and Lightning Bug are so popular. You might want to use a few wisps of pheasant tail or partridge or grouse for legs if the Ice Dub isn't spiky enough, though.
 
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king joe

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In many of my 'modified' hare's ear patterns that I use for Great Lakes Steelhead, I blend whatever colour (for 'that' pattern) ice dub with natural. It can be overpowering on its own, yes, but in the 'right' blend, it adds a bit of blam to patterns. Still buggy and natural from the natural fibers...but a bit of sparkle from the dub.

King Joe Outa Here!
 

red feather troutbum

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Do you think that ice dubbing would work for a hare's ear? I was thinking of tryin it out but didn't want to waste the time or materials if it has already been disproven. Thanks
Hi All, after years of trial an error I am convinced to only recommend trying it and see how it works on your local water in different scenarios, can be frustrating on the water, but playing Monday morning quarterback at the bench to tweak & develop new patterns and see what does work is half the fun of it...here's what I found; I have a highly modified size 14 hare's ear that is a go to pattern in my area - covers a large percentage of the food sources my trout see, doesn't exactly match anything, but looks alive & comes close on a lot of species triggering strikes, I've tied it w ice dub expecting good things for high, cloudy, spring water...fish them side x side, I didn't have great luck compared to hare facemask dubbing...but the ice dub on same size micro buggers, and modified damsel patterns have produced great results; those patterns are very similar, same materials but tied w a bit skinnier abdomen, same size gap on a little longer hook.
Another point that comes to mind; all of the above is specific to trout; flip side is that I've found any pattern appropriate for our local grayling water tied with ice dub, or similar shinny/translucent materials catches better compared to the same pattern, size etc. dubbed with traditional/natural materials.
 

markfrid

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In many of my 'modified' hare's ear patterns that I use for Great Lakes Steelhead, I blend whatever colour (for 'that' pattern) ice dub with natural. It can be overpowering on its own, yes, but in the 'right' blend, it adds a bit of blam to patterns. Still buggy and natural from the natural fibers...but a bit of sparkle from the dub.

King Joe Outa Here!
Like Mr King Joe, I have always used it as a mixer to add flash to natural colored dubbing, but these "frenchie" style nymphs look pretty cool - I'm going to have to try some!

Mark
 

gt05254

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I guarantee that ice dubbing works as a replacement for hare's ear. This is one of the most successful trout flies I tie:



Gary
 
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