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creekfishin

CDC FEATHERS

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Look at the flies in the database posted by DryFlypurist. He ties almost exclusively with cdc. Be forewarned however as I consider CDC to be the bane of my fly tying. I think is very tough to work with, but produces some amazing patterns once you figure it out.

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In short, ass feathers from a duck, naturally covered in duck butter.

 

It's been a long day.

 

Now the details. CDC are specific feathers that grow right around the preen gland of waterfowl, which is just forward of the tail. You will often see the fowl rubbing their beak through this area just before rubbing their beak through the feathers on other parts of their body. They are spreading the preen oil that keeps them waterproofed. The feathers have a very light, whispy appearance. Their very structure gives them great natural floatability by trapping tiny air bubbles. The natural oils also add great floatability, but are usually pretty well washed out in processed feathers by the time tyers get them in their hands. You can use CDC when you want natural flotation and/or great movement. Don't add any floatant unless it is natural CDC oil.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Deeky

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Wow deeky i have never seen that side of you yet and i got to say its very funny.I agree duck ass feathers are a bit of a pain to work with but o do they work good on drys.I would recommend talking to purist for tips with working with cdc.All i can say is give it a go and see what happens.

 

Marc

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riffleriversteelheadslayer thats not negative at all i did not know that.Now i know.Ok they are also turkey ass feathers. :thumbup:

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Knew the waterfowl had CDC (ducks, geese), but didn't know turkey had them too.

 

Just goes to show, you never know where you'll have a discussion about a duck's ass.

 

Deeky

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Deeky that's so true.Yea i had no idea either but if anybody ever wants a turkey I have a connections.

 

Oracle

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A picture is better than thousand words... This is the butt end of a duck with the CDC showing (it is hidden in feathers, so it might take a moment to locate).

 

318728fe59b.jpg

 

J.

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Firetiger - the picture does help a lot. Thanks for that. Want to send the skin to me so I can see it in person? ;) Already being a hunter, one would think I would just get off my duff and harvest a couple of ducks myself in the fall. From what I can see it looks like a mallard. Do you have mallards over there? Or a similar Euro duck?

 

Deeky

 

 

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Deeky, yes the duck in the pic is Mallard Drake. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mallard).

I am of opinion the actual species does not really matter, all ducks have the preen gland and thus the CDC feathers at roughly the same place. And geese and swans (never tried plucking a turkey).

If you hunt I strongly recommend plucking your own, that way you can be sure that you get both high and low quality feathers (some commercial suppliers have habit of selling the nice feathers separately at premium) and the price is hard to beat.

I would prefer not to get into the relative merits of cleaned and natural CDC again, so I leave that part up to you ;-)

 

Cheers!

 

Jindra

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