Copper Puke

[Mataura mayfly]

The last fly and photo I posted were a bit rugged.

So here is the next attempt...... The Copper Puke.
So named because of the two main ingredients, copper wire and Pukeko breast feather hackle.
Pukeko is New Zealands answer to the Moorhen, a swamp dwelling Rail.

Hook: Kamasan B175 #12
Thread: Uni black #8
Body: Thin red copper wire
Thorax: Bronze peacock herl
Hackle: Pukeko breast

What the photo does not show is the barbs of the feather start at the stem as a slate grey/black and become a blue/ purple toward the tips.

[tie2fish]

Beautifully tied and photographed.

[Roadkill]

Pukeko is a nice feather and that is a great fly. I will have to sub pheasant or peacock neck feathers but I will be tying some for this year!!

[William Anderson]

That's a nice combo. I like those darker colored wire bodies. They get down so they can be appreciated and I'm a big fan of the Pukeko feathers. Beautiful hues. This is great. Thanks for all the cool posts.

w

[letumgo]

Pukeko feathers.... (drool)

Great fly, photo and name.

[Mataura mayfly]

Thanks guys, too kind of words really for this amateur tie, especially when you look at some of the others offered up to this forum.

Yes Silver Pheasant feathers of the solid black type are a really good substitute for the Pukeko, they do not show the same colouration but they are very similar in their qualities and length of the barbs.

Up until this year we were able to hunt Pukeko in the gamebird season, this season they were omitted so I have had to rely on roadkill birds! I am also lucky enough to have parents that own a wonderful bronze gene peacock who is due in another month to drop it's tail.

[letumgo]

Interesting. I didn't know they molted their feathers. Do all the feathers fall out of the tail? Does this happen more than once a year? Pretty cool.

[Mataura mayfly]

Like all birds I think, the Peacock looses his feathers once a year in an annual moult. Most other birds tend to loose them a few at a time and some may be regrowing as others are falling, but with the Peacock he tends to dump his tail in one hit over a couple of days and then looks a bit daft for a while copared to his usual regal stance.

This moult is the best way to source your tying material. Get on the internet and search for people that show or breed poultry...... yes there are people that show birds just like folk do with dogs! Find your breeder then send them a nice email asking if they would be so kind as to send you some moulted feathers. You might like to suggest that their children may be keen to collect them for you if you were to send a small donation for their time and a self addressed envelope.
Can be cheaper than buying it at the flyshop.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Very nice dressing. I love tying with Pukeko. I still have almost half a full skin from a Mate down in NZ. Can cow cockeys still kill the pukeko if they are soiling the watering hole for cattle?

I hope to be able to get to the Land of the Long White Cloud, it's on the bucket list.

REE

[Mataura mayfly]

Ron,
That is a new on on me!
Not saying it may have a wee white lie about being able to cull Pukeko for soiling cattle water, just I have never heard of it. It is a shame we can not do the same with the cattle here that are soiling the water for us trout fishermen!

Pukeko have a semi protected status here as a gamebird and are under the control of "Fish and Game" here in NZ, the same body of people that regulate the trout fishing. Usually there is a daily bag limit of 4 birds per day per hunter during the season (May-July), but normally they are not really hunted as they are a poor table bird compared to the Mallard that fills most hunters bags.
This year the Pukeko was removed from the list of huntable bired here in Southland as well as in Otago, you could still hunt them further up the country but down here they were fully protected.
You are a very lucky man to have that skin, I get many requests for the feathers from overseas tiers and have been unable to supply this year due to the hunting ban.

Jeff.