Duck Season is here!

[Nick Williams 0]

Curious of those that are duck hunters and tiers, how many of you actually keep and use feathers from the birds you shoot??

 

And a second question, and I tried to search this but didn't come up with much: Besides Mallard and Wood duck flank and CDC feathers, and maybe some biots off of a goose or two, are any others actually worth keeping? And are CDC feathers from one bird better than another? Haven't kept feathers before this year, just never needed to, but I am wanting to learn!

 

Thanks guys!

[ihang10 0]

Good topic. This year I have a duck hunter supplying me with skins later this year. Mallards and woods are what he usually gets.

[Nick Williams 0]

Good topic. This year I have a duck hunter supplying me with skins later this year. Mallards and woods are what he usually gets.

 

Is he giving you whole skins? Wings? Or just parts?

[ihang10 0]

 

 

Good topic. This year I have a duck hunter supplying me with skins later this year. Mallards and woods are what he usually gets.

Is he giving you whole skins? Wings? Or just parts?

Whole birds/cleaned.

[flytire 0]

I'd keep the whole skins

 

use both sides of the wing quills not just the biots

[SILKHDH 0]

I get more ducks then I can use. Except for the big flanks for full dress salmon flies like wood duck, teal, shoveler, gadwall and pintail. I also like a little bronze mallard. Merganser has some awesome flank too. I tell you the smaller green wing teal flanks and side feathers make really nice speckled soft hackles. I use it to sub for partridge all the time. I'm sure the pintail would have the same but the stripes on the feather are not quite as big and dark. But close. Check out the small teal feathers. You might like it.

[essequamvideri 0]

I'd recommend experimenting with any of the feathers. As it has been said, use both sides of the wing feathers. Older wet fly patterns call for duck wing quite often.

 

I am an avid duck hunter and have more feathers than I could ever tie with. i am always trying something different with then.

 

To add to SILKHDH: don't forget Hen mallards and black duck feathers. Great coloring on them.

 

Lastly, if your buddy has it in his heart, ask for the hole bird and slow roast the bacon wrapped breast with some basil and garlic powder.

 

Michael

[Guest]

Haven't been able to hunt the last several years due to my back so I have a bunch of guys that send them to me, or I trade for them

[Fletchfishes 0]

I'd love to get my hands on a duck skin and/or other feathers (wood duck flank and pheasant tails in particular) but I don't hunt. Any advice about how I would go about befriending a hunter and what I could offer in exchange? It's my understanding that I can't outright purchase a skin since it is illegal? I have some unusual materials such as kangaroo fur, but it seems finding a hunter / tyer that is looking to trade skins isn't all that common.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

I'd love to get my hands on a duck skin and/or other feathers (wood duck flank and pheasant tails in particular) but I don't hunt. Any advice about how I would go about befriending a hunter and what I could offer in exchange? It's my understanding that I can't outright purchase a skin since it is illegal? I have some unusual materials such as kangaroo fur, but it seems finding a hunter / tyer that is looking to trade skins isn't all that common.

Pm me

[Harold Ray 0]

I'd love to get my hands on a duck skin and/or other feathers (wood duck flank and pheasant tails in particular) but I don't hunt.

Same here; I think you can use the feathers or some of the feather of just about any duck (or any other species) you can get; it's like deer hunting or fishing, either eat or use everything you can get, and then thank the animal you shot or caught, because they died to give it to you.

 

Ray

[Fisherboy0301 0]

With duck season real close here I'll be hopefully doing some hunting. I'd be willing to trade for sure. Always looking to expand my collection.

[niteshft 0]

I'm looking for the neck feathers of a wood duck, especially the ones with a white tip that forms a "V" pattern. It's used on the West Branch Caddis and laid flat on top. I'm guessing that to a fish this looks like a splayed wing when the sky is bright. Whatever, it's a killer fly on the West Branch of the Penobscot River in Maine.

 

EDIT: Oh, and the other feathers of the neck work great on emergers, just a dubbed body and the feather folded over the top in sizes 14 and 16.

[Guest]

Can't image the amount of feathers that get wasted every year!! As I said before there's some guys who keep lots of flank feathers for me and those big ones sure beat the small ones that come in the bags of dyed ones from the shelf.

[Guest]

I keep a few Gadwall flanks for my sculpins and some cdc from the oil glands on Mallards.