Question: Tail feather

[fflutterffly]

I've gone through a few of my limited feathers while trying to get a nice tail that will separate for a Mayfly. I do not want to use Fibbits or quills. Hen seems so soft that I think it will 'mat' in the water and Pheasant Tail just doesn't seem to be as fine as I'd like.
What feather is stiff enough to be a good tail material.
I'll hand up now and listen to your answers on line.

[hankaye]

fflutterffly, Howdy;

Couldn't say from personal experience, BUT,
from what I've seen and been able to ?understand?
some Coq de Leon (?spelling), might be what you are looking for.
Just a wild shot in the dark from here...

hank

[William Anderson]

fflutterffly, Howdy;
some Coq de Leon (?spelling), might be what you are looking for.
Just a wild shot in the dark from here...

hank

Ariel, Hank nailed it. I know there are lots of rooster capes, especially the genetic variety with very good, long, glassy and stiff fibers for tailing (I'm assuming you're talking about dry flies, as a SH would not require a stiff tail. But my absolute favorite tailing is the CdL, specifically Whiting's mottled Pardo feathers, sold as tailing packs. There are lots of other producers who are selling these CdL packs now, but there is really nothing more beautiful, or appropriate for dry fly tailing, with the stiffness and sheen than the Whiting pack. Suffice to say, I like it very much. You can get it as I have in a whole range of colors, but the best I've found are the light, medium and dark Pardo packs. They are not inexpensive, but wool just won't cut it for stiff tailing. just google them.

w

w

[Hans Weilenmann]

I've gone through a few of my limited feathers while trying to get a nice tail that will separate for a Mayfly. I do not want to use Fibbits or quills. Hen seems so soft that I think it will 'mat' in the water and Pheasant Tail just doesn't seem to be as fine as I'd like.
What feather is stiff enough to be a good tail material.
I'll hand up now and listen to your answers on line.

I will offer moose body hair as a good candidate.

If you find that too stiff or too tapered, then a mink tail has very nice guard hairs.

Cheers,
Hans W

[William Anderson]

Hans, that's a good call on the mink guard hairs. It's been so long since I've tied above surface dries, I had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder. Moose too, but the mink is really...elegant. Fox guard hairs too.

Ariel...post some pics of whatever you come with. I'd love to see it.

[Ruard]

Try this video: http://vimeo.com/47098037

This way you solve your tail and body problem.

Greeting

[fflutterffly]

That video is wild!!!! I'll have to crank a few of those flies out as well. Well all thanks for the information and suggestions. I'll keep at it with results posted in the future.