Opossum fur is a highly versatile natural material valued by fly tiers around the world for its soft underfur, fine guard hairs, and lifelike movement in the water. It has a natural sheen and translucency that perfectly imitates the texture and look of aquatic insects or small baitfish. Used as dubbing or cut into zonker strips, opossum offers excellent versatility for nymphs, wet flies, emergers, and predator patterns alike.
Its use varies by region: in New Zealand and Australia, brushtail opossum is traditional and widely used in local trout flies; in Scandinavia (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway), American opossum zonker strips are extremely popular among coastal and predator fly tiers, especially for sea-trout, salmon, and pike streamers, thanks to the fur’s lively and flowing motion in saltwater; in the USA and Canada, opossum appears in both classic and modern streamer designs; and in Central Europe, it is often blended with hare or seal dubbing for realistic nymph bodies used in Polish and Czech nymphing styles.
Its key characteristics:
- Soft texture with a subtle natural sheen
- Excellent movement in water — the fibers “breathe” beautifully
- Natural translucency that mimics insect bodies or small baitfish
- Dubs easily — the mix of fine underfur + coarse hair creates a perfect buggy effect
- Moves like rabbit but is thinner and more translucent
- More durable than squirrel
- Creates very natural “buggy” texture for realistic nymphs and wets
- 5x5cm
