Fly Tying Materials - The Birds

[mikechell 0]

DO you have a separate building for storing your fly tying supplies?

[troutguy 0]

I do have a separate room.

 

Our sons are grown and moved out so I took over a bedroom. I have a desk and two dressers of material.

 

In my defense, I am sixty and I have been tying since I was eight.

[artimus001 0]

wow. that's a lot of skins. great collection.

[bellevue.chartreuse.trout 0]

whoops... I think I just drooled!

BCT

[planettrout 0]

F.Y.I. There are two species of Quail here in CA. The skin pictured is from our state bird the California, or Valley Quail:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_quail

 

and the Mountain Quail:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_quail

 

I have hunted for both, in the same day, here...

 

 

 

PT/TB

[ditz2 0]

Not trying to hijack but I would be interested in a good soft hackle for size size 8 thru 12 soft hackles. I know that soft hackles generally are smaller but I tie only for warm water. I have bought bulk guinea feathers but they tend to be too large and I bought a starling skin and they tend to be too small. What skin would be an in-between for those sizes. .....

 

I am originally from east Central Indiana and quail hunting used to be good. We had a couple of really harsh winters and a couple of good hunters shooting over a good dog could kill enough birds from a covey that the rest of the birds had a difficult time surviving and the quail population dropped off dramatically. I am not anti - hunting though I don't hunt myself. I do like being in the woods and used to hunt squirrel. I still might if I had some place to hunt but I am not willing to lease ground just to hunt. The only animal I now hunt are home intruders.

[mikechell 0]

Not trying to hijack but I would be interested in a good soft hackle for size size 8 thru 12 soft hackles. I know that soft hackles generally are smaller but I tie only for warm water. I have bought bulk guinea feathers but they tend to be too large and I bought a starling skin and they tend to be too small. What skin would be an in-between for those sizes. .....

 

I am originally from east Central Indiana and quail hunting used to be good. We had a couple of really harsh winters and a couple of good hunters shooting over a good dog could kill enough birds from a covey that the rest of the birds had a difficult time surviving and the quail population dropped off dramatically. I am not anti - hunting though I don't hunt myself. I do like being in the woods and used to hunt squirrel. I still might if I had some place to hunt but I am not willing to lease ground just to hunt. The only animal I now hunt are home intruders.

Indiana always had daily limits. Your statement should read, "... a couple of good poachers shooting over a good dog could kill enough birds ..."

 

Anyway ... look at some of Eide's recent posts. He's been tying giant flies, and he mentioned a particular hackle that allows for those large size flies.

[crazy4oldcars 0]

ditz,

The two I like the most are the Ring-neck Pheasant and Hungarian Partridge. Both will have a range of feather sizes, but the ring-neck will mostly have larger sizes, and the partridge mostly smaller. I got my ring-neck a few years ago for about $20 on sale at Cabela's. The partridge was around $15, but I can't remember who I bought it from.

 

Kirk

[troutguy 0]

Actually hunters do very little to eliminate quail. If you live in a development that used to be an old farm, you have killed more quail than a life time of hunters.

 

For your soft hackles I would use quail, buy a small Hungarian partridge (most people grab the big skins cause they are all the same price which may be a mistake cause they have too many larger feathers) or get a woodcock. A small hen neck would work. Also you can take a large grouse soft hackle and instead of wrapping it cut and tie it on working it around the hook. Only use only the length you need.

 

Quail eggs and young are being killed off by the proliferation and spread of fire ants. Most people have a hard time believing this and argue (https://insects.tamu.edu/fireant/materials/multimedia_slides/pdf/QuailIFA.pdf). Loss of habitat by a change in farming practices (think factory farms) that eliminated the hedge rows and farms becoming housing developments.

 

With all of our game birds, lost habitat is the most serious problem to their current survival. In North Carolina, they want to selectively timber the Pisgah forest game land. Every group like Ruffed Grouse Society, etc support the plan. The mountain bikers are up in arms not wanting the forests destroyed. New growth supports more animals than old growth mature forest. The plan protects river bank shade and erosion control. It burns me that most of the land is supported not through the general fund but through license sales and WMA permits. The mountain bikers have even tried to ban hunting on game management land. They are freeloaders unless they buy a hunting license and a WMA permit.

 

If you tie flies, you are hypocritical if you are anti hunting. You may not do it, but if you use any animal, they were killed for your tying. I hate slob hunters and poachers, I called the game warden this year on a guy baiting deer with camo painted peanut butter jars. By being antihunting and tying if you use natural materials would be like joining PETA at their annual pig roast.

[troutguy 0]

In tying small soft hackles look over a full turkey skin. Look at the downy small body feathers.

 

A coot has nice small soft hackle feathers but they are all gray.

[Bruce Norikane 0]

I use many of these feathers but have never seen full skins of these birds, so this is a unique and wonderful resource for me!

 

Huge thanks,

 

Bruce

[Crackaig 0]

If you are not selling them you need to launch a fund raiser to cover the cost of all the computers that have been ruined with the drool on them.

I love exploring a new skin to see what there is that are not normally used. Most recently i found some great hackles on a pheasant skin (mellenistic) some black some white. Great for giving patterns a little twist.

Cheers,

C.

[troutguy 0]

Emu

Emu

Emu

Peacock

 

My wife wanted an Emu egg. they are beautiful malachite green. I bought her one on eBay. It was packed in this Emu feathers.

[troutguy 0]

Craigaig

 

I hate to waste an animal I hunt. I adore woodcock especially and I truly have mixed feelings when I kill them. I am honored to use them.

 

I hunt with people who breast ducks. If I can without going over my bag limit I have carefully breasted ducks for other hunters and included their bird in my limit.

 

I know a guy who buys a duck stamp and goes out to popular duck areas and breasts ducks for people as they leave and keeps their catch. It has made some game wardens inquire but they walked away liking what he was doing. The legs and carcass make great duck rice soup BTW.

 

The squirrel that I tie with are all roadkill. I was never fond of their taste. I have traded and purchased for fur and feathers.

 

When I bird hunt, I skin the bird, eat the good parts, grind the carcass and cook it for the dogs if I'm not making soup or it is dove or woodcock that do not make a good broth and give the leftover non-edibles to the six chickens I have.

[Fisherboy0301 0]

In tying small soft hackles look over a full turkey skin. Look at the downy small body feathers.

 

A coot has nice small soft hackle feathers but they are all gray.

Look on a turkey's thighs to find large soft hackles. Most are the sizes you said, but some larger, hardly any smaller than 10 or 12.