I've wanted to do this since I saw my first deer hair bug, I have read up on it & watched a few video's, I bought the materials & today I did it...please be kind, its my very first & I will say this ain't easy, trimming was especially difficult (this was gonna be a popper, but a slip of the razor changed it to a slider pretty fast)...I will definetly try again.
Before trimming


After

looks good, you just need to pack more deer hair on and then pack some more.

Good start, especially for your first one! I want to know how many bass snatch it up now....hehehe. I just know they are gonna LOVE IT. Hey what kind of vise you got there on that pic???

Griffin superior 1A, it's nuthin fancy, clamps to table...but it holds a hook very well...got it on ebay for 25 bucks along with some smelly bucktail

Way to go! That looks overly good for a first try. If fly tying is an art then deer hair spinning is the highest of the high. Well, let's call it sculpture on a Greco-Roman level.

I hope you continue to turn out good stuff like that.

Another good one to try is the Muddler Minnow.

And of course one can never pack too much hair on (until there is no room to tie off at the eye).

Do you have some sort of hair packing tool?

Hell, I bet it will catch fish!

Looks better than at least my first three tries - I didn't even bother trimming the first.

Looks like you got an excellent deal. The smelly deer hair, yes...they just about all smell that I have been in contact with. It is an unpleasant odor. Just realize the area it came from, and a buck tail, and you got the reason for the stink.......LOL. I hate that smell myself.

On the hair packing part, tools are available of various sorts or simply try a ball point pen barrel or just fingers.

I expect you have Googled for articles on this subject. If you have not already seen it there is a good one on GFF.

Deer hair tying, stacking, spinning grabbed me a number of years ago and won't let go. Only hard part is a place to do it that won't make a big mess.

yup, its a messy thing to do .. i looked for a hair packing tool but never found one locally or out of town..i used my fingers ... here are some mo' hair creations...the top 3 are rabbit tail sliders, the bottom two are a leech/woolly/muddler creation I was going for a "bloody gills" look in the black one...and yes i did trim them that short on purpose

Those bass at Lone Star lake won't know what hit 'em!

I must say that it appears you have grasped the concept in a throughly adequate manner!!

Dude I just gfot me some green deer hair and you got me pumped to try that out.

I pack with a bic pen - it works great!

If you ever get a chance, check out some of Chris Helm's videos. He is the master at spinning deer hair....bar none. He also sells the best hair that you can buy that he tans himself.

Here is another attempt...this time a bug with marabou/bucktail tail and deer hair body, I took the advice of several folks & used a bic pen (guts removed) to pack the hair, I also used a thinner thread this time which allowed for more hair to be used thus making it thicker, and forget those single edge razors for trimming, the old fashioned double edged wilkinson's are the thing...it ain't beautiful, but I've only been doing this a short while. I watched some Chris Helm video and gotta say he is amazing, maybe I could produce something he wouldn't throw in the garbage in about a hundred years. Anyway, these bugs are a lot tougher than the slider/diver type.

Let me say, that is awesome stuff!

Here is an opinion that I have that I'll share out for what it's worth (not too much)

There is technique and procedural skill and then there is pure art.

I have worked and worked on my skills and procedure to a point that I am not embarrassed to let a deer hair fly I made go out in public. But if my wife were to take it up, she'd spend 15 minutes learning and then turn out drop dead gorgeous stuff that would make me cry.

So keep working on your practical skills and they will allow the artistic-ness flow out and into the flies.

Like I said, my opnion and $2.00 will buy you a grande drip at the Starbucks.

Mike, I just know those flies are gonna catch some big honking bass. I agree with what Robin said above. You just let your natural ability in lure/fly making take over. You know what looks good, and you have good attention to detail. With a little more practice you will knock the folks out here with your deer hair bugs.

Gov't Bug

Very nice Mike. You make fly tying look easy. I hope nobody just starting out thinks they can do this well on average. You are a natural. :-)

I have watched a lot of videos & read a lot of books on the subject & each time I learn something new...the best thing I did was get a good hair packer & some kevlar thread.

Good deal! So tell me, how do you like using Kevlar to spin with?

in my extremely limited experience, i like kevlar, i had used some big (don't laugh) upholstery thread because the fly tying thread i had kept breaking, so now I have the small diameter which makes a world of difference & the strength of kevlar I can get more hair in bunch to spin and layers are easier.

Where did you get them?