Nutria

Nutria's Amazing Qualities

Nutria hair is very shiny and stiff with a regressed taper. These properties make Nutria great for use in fly tying. Nutria hair maintains it's position in the water, yet it is flexible enough that it moves in the current, almost like vibration.

We use it mostly as a replacement for feather hackle, in particular for support of softer wing materials like marabou and arctic fox (link). Ideal for support of Intruder wings and Temple Dog-style wings. The Nutria will maintain much better support then a feather under-hackle.

Nutria is also a great material for small feelers and antennas on trout and saltwater flies. As a hair wing it is commonly used in smaller shrimp type patterns, and popular for this purpose in northern Scandinavia. The under fur is very soft and fine, and works great for tightly dubbed bodies. All in all, Nutria is a fly tying material with a very broad range of applications.

Nutria can also be used in zonked strips. Due to it's spiky hair the zonked strips will look very buggy. Ideal for saltwater and freshwater crustacean imitations.

Nutria hair is a bit slippery. To tie it in securely we prefer to tie it in reverse, than fold it back on itself and tie it down. You can spin Nutria around a shank or tube by securing it with a few wraps and than pressing you thumbnail on the tie in point, while twisting. Another great technique with Nutria is to tie it in front of a bead. Tie in a bunch of Nutria and spin it around the shank than tightly wrap your thread back against the bead. This will make the Nutria flare and it creates an excellent support for softer wing materials. For more tips on how to use this material please go here.

The patches are roughly 9 square inches, varying between 3" x 3" and 2 x 4.5" If you are looking to cut zonked strips from our patches and need a certain length, please let us know and we'll try to match the length as close as possible.

* The natural colours have a fair degree of variation to them. For example the “Natural Brown” varies from almost black to a light brown. The length of the guard hair also varies somewhat. Shorter hair lends itself better for smaller flies, longer for bigger flies. If you have a specific type of hair in mind just let us know (email or call or place message with order), and we will make sure that you get what you are looking for.

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