what feathers to keep

thekevin4540

what feathers from what birds should i keep for flie tying

i have 1 woodcock 2 cock teal 2 hen teal 1 snip and thay are not plucked yet and i will get a few cock pheasants

i have 4 mallard wings 2 shoviler wings 2 cock pheasant wings 2 partridge wings . what should i keep for tying flies

fontanalis

Woodcock; the wings can be used of traditional wets, I think feathers from behind the neck are good for spiders/soft hackles
Teal Drake; wings (think there are greenish feathers on there) can be used for traditional wets and the black & white feathers from around the neck can be used for the Teal & series (teal blue & silver etc)
Snipe; more or less same as woodcock
Mallard drakes: blue wing feathers good for flies like the butcher. The brown/bronze feathers on the neck are good for wings for traditional wets and dabblers
Cock pheasant; the centre tail is great for nymphs (I think the wings from a hen are best for tying wings on wets)

yank_in_eire

Don't forget the flank feathers on mallard drakes for dabblers and the flanks on teal drakes for sea trout flies like teal blue & silver and peter ross.

coolwings

If you have shooting friends, don't forget grey squirrel tail.

thekevin4540

coolwings wrote: »

If you have shooting friends, don't forget grey squirrel tail.

i shoot my self thats how i got the wings and feathers but i never saw a gray squirrel