locally sourced /Chaeling my Grandfather

[thinkingredneck 0]

My Father was not an avid fisherman. My Mother's father lived to fish. He was a blue collar , depression era, FRUGAL man. He built his own house, and made a lot of his own lures and tied jigs. I am unsure if he made or bought his poppers. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was 10, but he did instill a love for fishing in me. I am proud to have some jigs and a paddle he built.

 

As a child I was unsupervised in my fishing. I broke his Bamboo rod horsing in a catfish with bait. I regret that I lost or broke most of his stuff, but he would have encouraged me to fish with it.

 

Anyway, I have been recovering from heart surgery, and am pharmaceutically enhanced. I have been reflecting on my childhood. I have been wondering what he would have had to tie with. I guarantee you he would not have spent money on feathers or fur.

 

Back then there were few deer in MS. There were a lot of Squirrels, both Grey and fox squirrel,and I think he used their tails in jig making. There was rabbit, fox, raccoon, possum, yard chickens, yard ducks, wild ducks, Quail, peacocks, guineas and I remember him shooting Starlings. No moose, Elk, Pheasant, or Grouse. He fishednfir Crappie, Bream and catfish. Also drum and buffalo.

 

This is becoming a project to me, tying with what would have been available back then, for free. Has anyone else done something similar? This may seem silly, but he would have thought I am silly paying what I pay for Dominecker (grizzly) chicken feathers. I am getting a kick out of this. I would like to hear if anyone else has similar thoughts.

[jjs89yj 0]

Post up some of the flies you tie up and any fish you catch with them!

[Piker20 0]

I've long believed the classic materials, peacock, squirrel fur, rabbit fur, herls, Golden pheasant etc have held their appeal because they simply work.

Lots of modern twists or synthetic alternatives are just to make money and catch fishermen.

You'll definitely catch plenty of fish using locally available materials and not being turned by the fancy modern stuff.

[utyer 0]

For the most part, the flies I fish with are tied with fairly common and inexpensive materials. "Locally sourced" materials are not available for me since I don't hunt, but there are other ways to collect materials. I rarely use synthetics in my patterns for cold water, or warm water fish, but I do use some for salt water patterns.

 

For 90% of its history, fly tying has always been done with "locally sourced" materials. If you couldn't collect it or trade locally for it, you didn't use it. The first flies were pretty simple, using only some yarn, and common chicken feathers. In the Treatise of Fishing With an Angle, there are only about 20 materials listed, and they were all materials that could be commonly found. Yarns, thread, and feathers from the farm were most common, and a few game bird feathers were also used.

 

I often tie my woolly worms, or woolly buggers with dubbed bodies, and natural turkey marabou. The body is brushed out to eliminate the need for hackle. Only when tying these for other people, do I use hackle.

 

My dry flies are almost always tied without hackle. I use deer, elk, and moose hair for wings, tails, and legs. Body material is usually synthetic yarn that I turn into dubbing.

 

My nymph patterns are usually pheasant or turkey feathers, and natural dubbing.

 

Give me an assortment of hooks, thread, yarns, furs, hairs, and game bird feathers, and I can tie every thing I consider essential.

[troutguy 0]

I have two Brittanies that are great hunters. I often get many birds. I waste nothing. I eat the meat from the birds, feed the innards to my chickens and grind the carcass for the dogs. I skin and borax every bird I shoot, duck, quail, woodcock, ruffed grouse (I shoot very few of these they are rare in the south) or shore birds. I used to pick up legal roadkill. I only do now if it something awesome.

 

My Grandfather was a fly fisherman at the turn of the 1900's. He always said that the color of the mayflies, stoneflies and caddis were related to the streamside flowers and animals of the area. I have heard that often from old timers.

 

I bought some new hens. Three are Ameracuanas. They have great feather variations. I look forward to some selective plucking.