Any Fly tyers out there?

[super dave]

I usually buy by feathers at my local tackle shop or craft store but a coworker mentioned that her father hunts turkey and pheasants deer....pretty much what ever moves. I asked her for some turkey feathers and pheasant tails. Do any of you guys harvest your own material? My main question is do I have to cure them in some way to get rid of the germs/bacteria? If so, how?

Also, is maribou from a turkey?

Thanks.

[Roy]

I'd say those feathers come from a marabou.

[dp3200]

A lot of materials you buy seem to be cured in some way. Having said that, I have used materials from a few different creatures that were hunted by friends and it seemed to work fine. You obviously only get the natural colors, but aside from that I didn't notice much of a difference.

 

That was of course until I found a piece of deer that a buddy gave me that had been sitting with some of my old gear for about 5 years. It smelled awful, but for all I know that could happen with store-bought materials after 5 years as well.

[pikeie]

Also, is maribou from a turkey?

Thanks.

 

yes marabou is from a turkey. i have used some rabbit skins from friends before and they work fine. i think they used borax??

[highdrifter]

Used to spend long hours at the vice when I was a younger, back when I had the time and I was absolutely gonzo about fly fishing.

 

I remember my mother coming home one day with a whole cape, wings and tail feathers of a golden pheasant!

 

She had visited a petting zoo with her class and she was given the bird...

 

I still have some patterns left with those materials.

 

I outta get back into it, but I don't wanna! False casting is great, catching fish is way more fun.

 

cheers

HD

[Ramble]

Oh it's good alright. You dont need to do anything fancy with the tissue just make sure it dries ok. Only need to "cure it" if you're gonna be using the hide. I have a racoon i use for dubbing and bulking up bodies. They arn't the most fun to skin cause of there so fatty. BUT once stretched an dried, you can tie a truck load of flies before you need to skin another one. Usually i just take the skin, or piece of deer hide, and nail it around the edges skin side up to a piece of ply wood and let it sit in a shady place with lots of ventalation. The drier the better. That's is after a good scraping of course. (FYI-If you can sneak it into the house between the furnace and a wall where no one looks is a good place lol) If bugs are an issue in the summer, I through a little salt on it. But that doesnt usually matter much. If it's scraped good the bugs usually leave it alone.

 

-R

[danbo]

Marabou is from a stork.

Put your feathers in a plastic bag then spray it with RAID & tie it off for a day.

Use BORAX to the skin side of critters/birds up to the size of a Fox.

Scrape any flesh off with the edge of a table spoon.

I'm an ex-taxidermist. Larger animal skins must be tanned to preserve 'em.

I'm selling/trading my entire set-up if your interested..

Edited October 24, 2008 by danbo

[fishing n autograph]

I usually buy by feathers at my local tackle shop or craft store but a coworker mentioned that her father hunts turkey and pheasants deer....pretty much what ever moves. I asked her for some turkey feathers and pheasant tails. Do any of you guys harvest your own material? My main question is do I have to cure them in some way to get rid of the germs/bacteria? If so, how?

Also, is maribou from a turkey?

Thanks.

 

Maribou is the fine belly feathers of a turkey

[Ramble]

If you're lookin to kill bugs in a bag put some nail polish remover on a paper towel and seal the bag up. THe ethel acetate in the nail polish remover will kill them over night, and you wont have to deal with the majestic smell of raid.

 

-Dave

Edited October 24, 2008 by Ramble On

[wuchikubo]

Marabou feathers can typically acquired from Stork, turkey, or chicken depending on the grade and length of marabou you are looking for.

 

Fly tying is a good way to pass non-fishing periods of time and once you have the types of materials for a particular pattern you don't need too much, it just gets a bit more expensive when you start tying multiple pattern and use various materials.

 

I don't know much about curing or prepping the materials but Danbo seems to have good advice above. As I figure a person with taxidermist training will have greater experience in curing such things. Thanks Danbo for the info you provided.

 

Now I have to tie up a few more patterns after all of this. LOL.

 

Stan

[highdrifter]

Marabou is from a stork.

 

Might have been way back when. Don't think the marabou you get nowadays is from storks though.. They're protected!

 

HD

[danbo]

African..but I digress..I agree Turkey is used today.

Edited October 24, 2008 by danbo

[carp-starter]

Check this web site:

 

http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/petti.htm

 

carp-starter

[singingdog]

Marabou is named for the african stork that it used to be harvested from (one of the largest, and ugliest birds in the world). Now, feathers sold as 'marabou' are generally turkey feathers.