Peacock Herl VS. Peacock Hearl Ice Dubbing

[The Royal Coachman]

Tried some of the Ice dubbing on the thorax of some Copper John's I tied up this afternoon. I wasn't that impressed. I thought it would be a time saver but the effect wasn't what I expected. I think I'll stick with the Herl, at least for the Copper John.

Anyone use the ice dubbing? On what flies and do you really like it better than the real thing?

 

[jamiep]

Tried some of the Ice dubbing on the thorax of some Copper John's I tied up this afternoon. I wasn't that impressed. I thought it would be a time saver but the effect wasn't what I expected. I think I'll stick with the Herl, at least for the Copper John.

Anyone use the ice dubbing? On what flies and do you really like it better than the real thing?

I use the ice dubbing but i still use the herl.I dont think the ice dubbing should be a substitute for the herl imo.
I prefer the herl

 

[Ronbo]

I use very little Ice dub as I prefer the natural materials better.
That said if I want to add a little sparkle to a fly I just add a little of the Ice dub to the natural dubbing I'm using. It looks great and adds that little bit of flash. Give it a try
As far as replacing Herl it doesn't have the same texture and thats probably why you didn't get the results you expected.

 

[NJpatbee]

I have used the ice dub for the thorax on the Pheasant Tail and it looks ok, but I will find out how effective it is this spring. I went back to the natural peacock for the Copper Johns.

I have had a lot of success using the ice dub blended with natural fur in different shades for emerging caddis pupae. Last season was the first time I used it, and it became one of my most productive flies, even when there were no caddis showing on the water.

 

[jcstikfish]

Tried some of the Ice dubbing on the thorax of some Copper John's I tied up this afternoon. I wasn't that impressed. I thought it would be a time saver but the effect wasn't what I expected. I think I'll stick with the Herl, at least for the Copper John.

Anyone use the ice dubbing? On what flies and do you really like it better than the real thing?

The great thing about fly tying is that you are ALLOWED to do any thing you please!

I use ice dubbing mostly as a sub for a more natural dubbing when tying a high/dirty water version of a proven fly.

Since herl is basically a natural chenille, and behaves as such, when I am subbing for herl, I tend to experiment with chenille type materials.

Bottom Line:
Fish the fly when other, similar flies are producing on the water. If it is even more effective than what you were using, call it a success and keep doing it!

~James