Jerry G wrote:As long as we're talking about wings, without being able to get at the flesh or any meat that may be on the wings how can we treat these wings so as to avoid the foul odor?
Regards, Jerry
You need to prepare the wings and other stuff properly. Otherwise you will have problems, the same problem arises with stuff like poorly prepared hares masks etc. These can stink to high heaven and contaminate other stuff. The only way to stop stuff stinking is to prepare it properly and then dry it out completely.
The very best way to do this is to remove the feathers you want and discard the rest. If you want to keep whole wings or stuff like hare masks etc;
When you first obtain the wings ( if you obtain them yourself), you should cut the wing off as close as possible to where it joins the body. Then wash the whole thing in very hot soapy water. Swish it about.This will remove any blood, feather mites, ticks, and other bugs. Rinse very thoroughly. Now let the wings dry for while, and then place them in a warm dry place, or in a dessicator box. This is just an airtight box with silica gel. This extracts all the moisture. Without moisture the material can not rot, and is basically mummified. You can get the gel here;
http://www.jakesmp.com/csd_silica_gel/c ... 013_m.html
most flower shops will have it, it is also used for drying flowers. You can use it over and over again, to rejuvenate it, put it in the oven at 150°C for three hours and it is ready for use again.
But this is the same stuff, I collect it from various packaging etc and a few stores also save it for me, I have about a hundred pounds of it collected like this. It is otherwise usually thrown away. If you ask at an electronics store or a drugstore, they often have boxes full of it that they will give away;
Unless you remove ALL moisture from wings, skins etc, they will begin to rot and stink. Keeping things in a warm dry place away from bugs will also dry them out, but it takes longer and is also climate dependent. You must NEVER place anything in storage that is not completely dry, it will rot and stink. If you have something that is rotting and stinking, you need to soak it in hot vinegar solution, ( not boiling but close), and then proceed as described for fresh material. If the rot has gone too far and the material is falling apart, it is best to discard it. You can save feathers and treat them as described but loose fur is usually useless and difficult to clean. You can do it if you want to, but it is not usually worth the bother.
Some more info on silica gel;
The various dry shake products for drying flies etc are mostly hydrophobic fumed silica (Cab-o-Sil TS-720). These dry and waterproof the fly, because of the hydrophobic powder material in the substance.
You can buy reasonable amounts of this here;
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/f_mixin.html
QUOTE
Recently we've had lots of 1 quart purchases of our hydrophobic (water repelling) fumed silica. We thought this odd as the shipping on one quart is about as much as the product. Turns out that fly-fisherman have been using it (successfully, we assume) to 'dip' their flies into so that they 'act' more like real insects on the surface of the water! A quart apparently is a lifetime supply. We're probably the only '1 quart source' anywhere. ----
"Paul, This is my 2nd order with your company... When a dry fly becomes waterlogged, I squeeze it between layers of an absorbent cloth, then apply the fumed silica with the brush working it into all parts of the fly. It then floats like new, if not better."
And another fly fisherman emailed me: "Well, I'll tell you, the 'right stuff' is magic for flies (and the wrong stuff, like cab-o-si M5 is a disaster!). It can dry out a soggy dry fly and float it better than a fresh one from your flybox. It's expecially useful for flies made from feathers or fur that can't be treated with our regular paste type flotants like silicones. And on subsurface flies, it adds a shine and a bubble layer that mimics the naturals as they are about to emerge. People say their treated flies are 2 to 3 times more effective.
But, you can't trust a flyfisherman any more than *any* fisherman, so you need to take that with a large grain of salt."
Scott (9/7/09) "I catch more fish with your product than anything else I've ever tried! Thanks!"
UNQUOTE
Info;
http://www.epoxyproducts.com/silica.html
If you just want to dry your flies really well, then get some silica gel. Practically any flower shop or chemist will have it, it is a drying agent used for drying flowers among other things. It is also used in small sachets to pack drugs and electronics in order to keep them dry in transit. Grind this up, in a coffee grinder or similar, and you have a pure drying agent. You can save your expensive dry-shake for flies you want to completely dry AND waterproof.
silgel
Silica gel is an amorphous form of silicon dioxide, which is synthetically produced in the form of hard irregular granules (having the appearance of crystals) or hard irregular beads. A microporous structure of interlocking cavities gives a very high surface area (800 square meters per gram). It is this structure that makes silica gel a high capacity desiccant. Water molecules adhere to the gels surface because it exhibits a lower vapour pressure than the surrounding air.
When an equilibrium of equal pressure is reached, no more adsorption occurs. Thus the higher the humidity of the surrounding air, the greater the amount of water that is adsorbed before equilibrium is reached. It is in these higher humidity conditions (above 50% Relative Humidity) that stored or in-transit items are susceptible to damage.
The beauty of silica gel is the physical adsorption of water vapour into its internal pores. There is no chemical reaction, no by-products or side effects. Even when saturated with water vapour, silica gel still has the appearance of a dry product, its shape unchanged.
Advantages of silica gel as a desiccant.
Silica gel has many other properties that recommend it as a desiccant.
- It will adsorb up to one third of its own weight in water vapour. This adsorption efficiency is approximately 35% greater than that of typical desiccant clays, making silica gel the preferred choice where weight or efficiency are important factors.
- It has an almost indefinite shelf life if stored in airtight conditions.
- It can be regenerated and reused if required. Gently heating silica gel
will drive off the adsorbed moisture and leave it ready for reuse. ( Twenty minutes at 100°C in an oven for small amounts. Longer for larger amounts, up to three´hours at 150"C).
- It is a very inert material, it will not normally attack or corrode other materials and with the exception of strong alkalis and hydrofluoric acid is itself resistant to attack.
- It is non-toxic and non-flammable.
- It is most frequently and conveniently used packed in a breathable sachet or bag. These are available in a wide range of sizes suitable for use with a wide range of applications.
Standard white silica gel is referred to as being non-indicating. As it adsorbs moisture it remains physically unchanged. Non-indicating silica gel is both cheap and effective, available loose in bulk packs or packed in sachets Self-indicating silica gels are coloured gels whose colour changes as they adsorb moisture.
It is often used for packing electronic equipment and similar to prevent damage by condensation. It is usually in small paper sachets in the packing boxes. If you ask at an electrical goods store or similar they may be able to give you a whole load of it, as they just throw it away. Silica gel is in the form of small spheres usually, to use this as a fly drying medium, just grind these up in a coffee grinder or similar, you can also crush it with a hammer, and put in an airtight container such as a 35mm film can. To dry your fly, just dip it in the powder and shake, the fly is dry almost immediately.
It is not a good idea to use silica gel in fly-boxes, because the gel will adsorb water from the surroundings, and may have the reverse effect to the one desired, holding moisture in your box. The best policy is to ensure your flies are perfectly dry before putting them back in the box. The best way to do this is to get a small plastic film canister with a snap on lid. Drill a series of holes with a small drill around the base, and around the upper rim. Drill a hole in the lid, pass a cord through it and knot it, and attach the other end to your vest or whatever. Used flies placed in this box dry perfectly, and relatively quickly. You cannot lose the flies ( flies tend to fall out of "drying-patches" and the like, especially barbless ones ! ), and your drying box may be emptied at the end of the day and the dry flies returned to the main box. This is the best way to dry flies I have yet discovered.
TL
MC
