Are these feathers desirable?

[Ra_ 0]

They are pretty feathers, for sure. But, as has been mentioned, they are very wide. Wrapping around the hook, the barbs will stand out too far for small and medium sized flies. They'd be good for large streamers, but not much more.

 

 

Not my cup of tea, sorry.

 

Thank you for your consideration.

Good luck with the fish.

 

[flytire 0]

the cape and saddle feathers will both wrap aroung the hook shank just fine

 

they would make great hackle collars on salmon flies, streamers, matukas

 

grizzly collar

 

 

similar to these

 

 

good for wings on featherwing streamers, the back feather on matukas etc

 

featherwing streamer

 

 

the saddle feather can be wrapped around the hook shank for woolly worms and buggers

 

[Ra_ 0]

the cape and saddle feathers will both wrap aroung the hook shank just fine

they would make great hackle collars on salmon flies, streamers, matukas

grizzly collar

similar to these

good for wings on featherwing streamers, the back feather on matukas etc

featherwing streamer

the saddle feather can be wrapped around the hook shank for woolly worms and buggers

 

 

Thank you for those illustrations.

You can have the feathers if you think you'd like to try them.

[Charlie P. (NY) 0]

If you tie for saltwater or bass they would make a good Cockroach streamer.

[saltydancindave 0]

 

If you don't want to kill any just yet (you seem to not want to), pluck some feathers from the saddle area and send them out for us to try.

 

I plucked two from the cape and one from the saddle.

Can you do anything with these?

 

 

One could go thru quite a few of those tying tarpon flies where it takes 6 matched, 3 splayed a side & for bass streamers & deer hair poppers tails. Also would be good for legs on topwater gurglers fly fishing the flats !

[saltydancindave 0]

 

Looks like some fantastic big bass & saltwater hackle as wide & long as it appears for poppers & streamers, etc. !

 

Thanks.

I'll send you a couple if you want to try them.

 

I've been researching a little.

I'm not quite sure what makes a feather wrap properly?

I give my birds a rich diet, so maybe that'll help?

 

For years been tying those too dang big uglies bass flies since smallies & bucketmouths don't seem to need fancy eye candy to strike. Thanks for the offer of hackles. I'll PM .

[saltydancindave 0]

Looks as if the larger ones will be fine for size #1 &/or maybe #1/0 gurglers if long enough to spiral up the hook over the foam & estaz as the fibers will imitate shrimp legs & crab legs. If there were enough of them in the same size & width with matching right & left curves in multiples for 3 per side could have tails for tarpon flies & bass poppers. The smaller could work for tails also & dry fly hackle if tying #2's & probably a little smaller depending on the pluck sort......

[Mike West 0]

I could use those for my warm water tying

Deer hair poppers big streamers etc.