Soft Hackle - first attempt

[jbird]

If you really want to make the most of the feathers. Spend a half hour, dump out the bag, have 3 dixie cups in front of you and start culling through them. Seperate small, medium, large. You can then pour them into individual snap seal bags and write sm. m. lg. on the bags with a sharpie. Throw away all the real downy ones...and dont cough or sneeze while sorting!! Or just spring for a partrage skin

j

[Ed Wahl]

Probably have to do that. You want to here a bunch of moanin and whinin, just be in the shop when I have to pay "retail" for a bird skin. Had to actually pay for some pheasant tails year before last, chapped my hide like you wouldn't believe. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Ed BTW, barn owls are the official state road kill bird going down I-5, should I stop and do the deed? Ed

[David Lee]

Kinda got off topic there. Sorry, birds do that to me. Say you have a bag of mixed grouse feathers, they all look the same, what to do? Ed

God help y'all (and us , too ....) , but SuperEdWahl and I will be hunting together in 2008 .

That should take care of the community supply of Duck Flank/Quail Shoulder/Grouse/etc .. Call me for 'special' dyed colors !!!

David

[Darian]

Steelie,.... That fly is just right for a spider version of the soft hackle fly. Also, there're any number of fly patterns with the materials combo of Peacock/red.... Many soft hackle fly patterns have long hackle for the size of the book and the reason for that is that they're effective. With the basic materials included in your tie, you can add a rib (gold, red, silver, copper, brass, etc.) for some flash. Add a mylar tag (similar colors) and make it even more flashy. Shorten up the hackle and tie it dry style and you've got an effective dry pattern. Slant that same hackle back and tie in a slip of matching duck flight feathers and you have a very good wet fly....

Anyway, you get the idea. Keep your imagination open to change....

[SteelieD]

Thanks again guys.

The best thing for soft hackles is to have a whole hungarian partrage skin.

I'm with you Ed, $22.50 I believe it was for a whole skin. Yikes! I opted for a bag of feathers for $5.50. Again, yikes! But, I can see the value now as there is a bunch of worthless (as soft hackles anyway) feathers in that bag. I'll try sorting them as you suggest Jay.

I have a huge bag of pheasant feathers that a hunter gave me. I am going to try them as soft hackles. Maybe I'll have some smaller sizes. They have some interesting coloring to them as well!

Darian, there actually is a gold wire rib on there, but you can't see it. I appreciate the ideas. I might screw around with it a bit and see what I come up with!

[jbird]

steelieD

The cool thing about the full skin is there are countless feathers in every size. And they are all organized by length, compliments of God. There are hackles for size 22 all the way to.....huge! And the quality is way better than the bagged stuff. They are $20.25 at flytiers.com for #1 select skin. This is what it looks like



I tell ya, I dont miss the $23 I spent on mine 5 or 6 years ago, and I'm really glad I have the skin. Its plucked pretty good but theres still 100s...if not 1000s of feathers still on it!

Jay

[sculpin]

I agree with Jbird about getting a whole skin and I'm a tight ass. I'm also a disorganised slob and after first using the bagged feathers I went for a whole skin. Here is a link to a place that sells them cheap enough it isn't worth skinning one yourself. http://www.hideandfur.com/ I haven't done any business with them yet but will next time I need something they have.

Ed
We don't have Huns or Chuckars here in Western Oregon but do East of the Cascades. If your interested in hunting them some time get in touch with me. We do have pretty good cast and blast opportunities here in the Valley during the fall for waterfowl and steelhead.

[SteelieD]

Jay, why is it that God seems have things so figured out?! I'll probably make due with what I've got but, bite the bullet and buy a whole skin when I am ready for some more.

Sculp - Good link there (he's out of partridges skins now though). I hear you about being a tight a** but, believe me, I'd never clean my own! Not my style.

As a humorous note, my 6 year old daughter was looking over my shoulder as I read this and saw Jay's picture...
"What is that dad?"
"A Partridge skin."
"What's a Partridge?"
"It's a bird."
"Well then, wheres it's head?"
She was pretty upset when I told here it was dead and being used to tie flys. She, at the tender young age of 6, doesn't believe in killing animals and gets mad when they don't 'catch and release' on the fishing shows!
Wait'll she sees my hares masks!

Kids are so cute.