FLYMPH FORUM

I found these near an avian crash site a bit ago and finally tied a couple flies with them. They are lovely little hackles, but much to fragile.

Hook: Daiichi 1250 #16
Tying thread: Griffiths 14/0
Hackle: unknown
Abdomen: Turkey flat, dyed yellow
Rib: Primrose silk
Thorax: Natural mole.
Head: Natural mole.



Hook: Skalka WN1 #16 (made in Czech., courtesy of Robert Culver)
Tying thread: Griffiths 14/0
Hackle: unknown
Body: Primrose Silk




w

Really nice, W! "Found" feathers can often turn out to be wonderful hackle, as these beauties of yours illustrate.

Thank you, Bill. This poor guy deserved better, but this was all I could do for him.

Great flies W, but be sure your roadkill tying supplies are clean and safe before a "hatch" sets in in your fly box. One spring I found I had a full fly box of assorted flies turned into nymphs over the winter due to one contaminated fly from a friend.

Very cool wee spiders.
You remember these guys?



Every now and then one tries to fly through the glass of one of the big windows in our house and comes off second best. They yield some beautiful tiny feathers- olives, chestnut and grey dun, but they are VERY delicate and will tear/collapse when wet. Almost a "one outing" fly if you use them.

Bill, I took care to "prep" the few feathers by stripping the base to make them ready to mount, washed them a bit with some soap, dried them, dashed them with a pinch of borax in a ziplock and tossed them in the freezer for about 4 months. Gab never spotted them in the back of the freezer or they would have disappeared. I suppose it is a risk with the 3-4 flies I tied. The rest hit the waste bin after not actually being able to wrap the hackle. I had to use the "stewart technique and twisted the feather with the thread a bit, then pulled the hackle back and whip finished it in place. I absolutely do not have a soft enough touch to hackle with these without breaking them. But I managed a couple.

Jeff, that's about right. What a nice shot of that small contingent of hackles.