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Bimini15

Bronze Mallard

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I am no expert in fowl, so I have a silly question:

 

When a fly recipe calls for bronze mallard, is bronze just another color of flank feathers or is it a different type of feather or bird altogether?

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CB you are right.

Eric Leiser mentions it in The Complete book of Fly Tying.

Bronze Mallard: Feathers from drake mallard ducks just above the point where the wing merges with the body; similar to the flank, except much of the feather is brown/ bronze.

Like the flank it is also barred with black stripes.

Their are usually only six of them on a prime drake mallard.

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Yup, just a few feathers on each bird. You usually find them sold in small packs with matching right and left pairs of feathers. Not only are there only a few feathers per bird, each feather only has a small sweet spot where the fibers are really usable if you're using them for wings on spey flies.

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For a good picture and a description scroll down half way; http://www.featheremporium.com/Exotic-Feathers/waterfowl/mallard.html

 

Pick a size that lets you use the fibers full length for best results, I think.

Best do a google search on FE before you buy from them. I made a small purchase from them several months ago that was very good!

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