Arctic fox tail is probably the most common winging material for large flies, and this translates to tubes very well. It is available in many colors and in lengths of 2.5” to 5” with longer hair possible. It moves great in the water and tied flat in stages can produce a large silhouette with very sparse dressing, (keeping the wet weight to a minimum).
Although not quite as soft or, (is some cases), long as temple dog. It is much more consistently available and less expensive. It makes a great fishing fly that is plenty long for any of the waters that I fish. Adding a top layer of temple dog to base layers of Arctic Fox will allow very large flies at a fraction of the cost of an all dog fly...Bob B.

Hakan Norling first used temple dog hair in the mid 1980´s and since its discovery the “temple dog” style of tie has become a household name in the world of swinging flies for Atlantic salmon and steelhead.
Temple dog hair is extremely soft in texture, has very few guard hairs and a lack of under fur. These properties make for tremendous movement and a pulsating action as the fly swims across the current. The softness of the hair brings the illusion of life to the fly and un-like other soft materials such as marabou, it will hold its shape and maintain a large profile during the swing.
My personal preference is to combine fox hair with Temple dog. I like the properties of fox tail for the under wing and prefer the softer texture and uniform length of temple dog for the top wing...Peter H.

My main draw to Finn Coon tail as a tying material is the variety of hair in one tail. The underfur is ultra soft, and very fluffy. It varies in length from 1-3in. I prefer to remove all of the guard hairs when using it for underwings in Scandinavian style tube flies, as well as traditional style salmon patterns. It compresses very tightly to keep the head size to a minimum when whip finishing a fly.
The guard hairs are a tad stiffer and stand up very nicely. They vary in length from 2-4in. A few of them in with the underfur will create a great base for a perfect wing profile. The guard hairs also have a very translucent quality to them, much akin to Polar Bear.
Overall, the fur absolutely comes alive when wet. It soaks up water well and sinks quickly. I would recommend it for use as underwings on large tube flies, and hair wings on wet Salmon patterns size #3 and smaller...Jamey M.