Pretty incredible! Just shows how you can make a beautiful and very functional fly without having to resort to spending ridiculous amounts of money to have the perfect materials. A pigeon feather for wings, a pretty low quality hackle neck for the tail and hackle, plus some mole fur and you have a great fishing fly. Really makes me want to use up those older materials, especially hackle necks, to tie some some very nice flies that will fish just fine. When I started tying flies over 55 years ago there weren't any of these genetically perfect feathers available, and we didn't have the synthetics we have today. How did I ever catch any fish at all back then!? 😀 Thanks!!
Tks Davie 4 the good tip on making the most of ur feathers! I've always been instructed 2 use matched wing feathers never the tip I just watched. I started 20+ yrs ago off n on n will strt tying again when I make changes that allow it. I collect feathers all the time w/I'm out n the woods n this tip helps 2 make better use 4 wings. I appreciate what ur doing n Thank you 4 great videos w/excellent tips. God Bless n fish on!
Mega Thx Davie ! Your timing for this video is perfect for me. I just acquired a package of duck quills and one of the matching feathers has a third of the tip ends damaged so I was fretting about how to use what’s useable for tying since I’m still in the learning process. Now I’m confident that I can tie wet & dry flies without throwing away damaged feathers.
I like seeing ways to use natural materials you find walking around in your garden and back yard to make fishing flies. I used many materials I found around the house from wool and polyester yarn, to polyester rope and shoelaces. I found many others in local craft stores and sewing and fabric shops too. I seem to stick out in places like these and always asked what I did with the things I bought. If you want to find colors of thread, you do not find in fly material catalogs you can find many more colors in fabric stores. Craft shops supplies have beads, wire, chenille, glitter threads, colored elastic threads and many materials easily used for fly materials. Plus, all types of glue and colors of paints and wood for popping bugs and the tools to make them if you look. 🔍✂🧵🎨🤔
That is a really cool way to prepare the feather for wings. I have never seen that before. I have shied away from making matched quill wings over the years because they just give me trouble but that might be the trick. Thanks!
I wound up watching this last as I’m at work and running around like a wild man. I’ve got to use mole on a dry. I used it for spiders but that looks fantastic. This has been a truly fun set of videos. Score a perfect 10 for creativity.
Cool little all-round dry fly. Looks pretty effective. Been meaning to tie some ginger quills to experiment with as I've become tunnel visioned on fishing grey duster paraloops but I like the look of this fly and the use of mole fur. Thanks for another enjoyable video.
Hello Davie ! No more doubled starling feathers fibers Hardy's style, for dry flies ? Those duck feathers fibers, weren't just for wet flies ? Thank you so much for your tying lessons. You are the number one between professional fly tiers...
I have kind of wondered why I never came across pigeon feathers in fly dressings. When I started out I used pigeon wing for Greenwell-style wets and dries. They seemed ok to me, but I moved on to other things for no better reason than that nobody else used them. Always thought there might be soft hackles on neck and wing that could have uses. Maybe I'll try sometime. Using one feather like that, I would expect the wings to twist in opposite directions when cast and fished. Presumably that's not a problem?
A clever technique to use a single found feather to make dry/wet fly wings. You are saying that the magpie feather fibers are too fine to make wings, but the pigeon and crow primaries have coarser more appropriate fibers, is that correct? Thanks for sharing this technique with us.
Great videos as always Davie and I've not seen the technique of making wings from the same feather as normally they're from feathers of opposing wings. So applause for that. I've a question please. The wing height is normally the shank length. What would be the best width? I know the fish won't mind, but from a visual tying perspective, would it be half the gape for example or is there some other guide? Thanks. Jim
Brilliant technique with the wing Davie! Thank you. It seems like you should be able to get quite a lot flies out of that feather, but you mentioned that you’d only get a couple. Why? Do the fibers get too short?
Hi Len Trim, I did clean these feathers by soaking them in warm soapy water which does clean them well, all you have to do is allow them to dry completely so you shouldn't have any problems...I'm glad you like the fly.. All the very best Davie..
Hi Al Caton, I do like Coq de Leon fibre for a tail as it does last though I also like using cock hackle fibres from Chinese or Whiting capes as they work well with many patterns.. All the very best Davie
The amount of feathers I walk past is ridiculous, I certainly won't now. Excellent stuff Davie as usual 👏👏
Pretty incredible! Just shows how you can make a beautiful and very functional fly without having to resort to spending ridiculous amounts of money to have the perfect materials. A pigeon feather for wings, a pretty low quality hackle neck for the tail and hackle, plus some mole fur and you have a great fishing fly. Really makes me want to use up those older materials, especially hackle necks, to tie some some very nice flies that will fish just fine. When I started tying flies over 55 years ago there weren't any of these genetically perfect feathers available, and we didn't have the synthetics we have today. How did I ever catch any fish at all back then!? 😀
Thanks!!
Nicely tied fly with easy to hand materials thanks Davie
Tks Davie 4 the good tip on making the most of ur feathers! I've always been instructed 2 use matched wing feathers never the tip I just watched. I started 20+ yrs ago off n on n will strt tying again when I make changes that allow it. I collect feathers all the time w/I'm out n the woods n this tip helps 2 make better use 4 wings. I appreciate what ur doing n Thank you 4 great videos w/excellent tips. God Bless n fish on!
Mega Thx Davie ! Your timing for this video is perfect for me. I just acquired a package of duck quills and one of the matching feathers has a third of the tip ends damaged so I was fretting about how to use what’s useable for tying since I’m still in the learning process. Now I’m confident that I can tie wet & dry flies without throwing away damaged feathers.
That is a very neat trick! Thanks Davie! 👍🏻👍🏻
I like seeing ways to use natural materials you find walking around in your garden and back yard to make fishing flies. I used many materials I found around the house from wool and polyester yarn, to polyester rope and shoelaces. I found many others in local craft stores and sewing and fabric shops too.
I seem to stick out in places like these and always asked what I did with the things I bought. If you want to find colors of thread, you do not find in fly material catalogs you can find many more colors in fabric stores. Craft shops supplies have beads, wire, chenille, glitter threads, colored elastic threads and many materials easily used for fly materials. Plus, all types of glue and colors of paints and wood for popping bugs and the tools to make them if you look. 🔍✂🧵🎨🤔
Nice fly from easy to hand materials thanks Davie.
Thanks Davie tied as I was shown 60 plus years ago . Stay well, Big Davie
It's quite fascinating how you somehow always end up making 100% flawless, perfect flies!
That is a really cool way to prepare the feather for wings. I have never seen that before. I have shied away from making matched quill wings over the years because they just give me trouble but that might be the trick. Thanks!
Great Fly 🪰, awesome technique ! Thanks for sharing 👍
Как всегда - класс! Благодарю, Дэви! Отличная имитация подёнки! Шикарная муха!👍🤝🇰🇿
I wound up watching this last as I’m at work and running around like a wild man. I’ve got to use mole on a dry. I used it for spiders but that looks fantastic. This has been a truly fun set of videos. Score a perfect 10 for creativity.
Cool little all-round dry fly. Looks pretty effective. Been meaning to tie some ginger quills to experiment with as I've become tunnel visioned on fishing grey duster paraloops but I like the look of this fly and the use of mole fur. Thanks for another enjoyable video.
Totally amazing davie 👌
Hello Davie ! No more doubled starling feathers fibers Hardy's style, for dry flies ? Those duck feathers fibers, weren't just for wet flies ? Thank you so much for your tying lessons. You are the number one between professional fly tiers...
I prefer the look of the rounded wing tip that you tied in this video. Similar to a Helen Shaw technique
Wat a Beautiful Fly!
I have kind of wondered why I never came across pigeon feathers in fly dressings. When I started out I used pigeon wing for Greenwell-style wets and dries. They seemed ok to me, but I moved on to other things for no better reason than that nobody else used them. Always thought there might be soft hackles on neck and wing that could have uses. Maybe I'll try sometime.
Using one feather like that, I would expect the wings to twist in opposite directions when cast and fished. Presumably that's not a problem?
A clever technique to use a single found feather to make dry/wet fly wings. You are saying that the magpie feather fibers are too fine to make wings, but the pigeon and crow primaries have coarser more appropriate fibers, is that correct? Thanks for sharing this
technique with us.
Great videos as always Davie and I've not seen the technique of making wings from the same feather as normally they're from feathers of opposing wings. So applause for that. I've a question please. The wing height is normally the shank length. What would be the best width? I know the fish won't mind, but from a visual tying perspective, would it be half the gape for example or is there some other guide? Thanks. Jim
I’m gonna say it………witchcraft!!! I’ve tried this a thousand times and end up with something that looks more like a spider fly every time!!! 😂😂
Brilliant technique with the wing Davie! Thank you.
It seems like you should be able to get quite a lot flies out of that feather, but you mentioned that you’d only get a couple. Why? Do the fibers get too short?
Great tie as usual. Do you treat your found feathers in anyway? Freeze for instance to kill off any possible bugs.
Hi Len Trim,
I did clean these feathers by soaking them in warm soapy water which does clean them well, all you have to do is allow them to dry completely so you shouldn't have any problems...I'm glad you like the fly..
All the very best Davie..
Davie, what’s the best tailing hackle for dry flies? Coq de Leon, India capes, Metz capes, whiting capes, etc ? Thanks
Hi Al Caton,
I do like Coq de Leon fibre for a tail as it does last though I also like using cock hackle fibres from Chinese or Whiting capes as they work well with many patterns..
All the very best Davie
looks like wood pigeon feather
🔥🔥🔥👍💪🥂
I thought this was fly tying not magic. What kinda wizard makes two matching wings outa one feather. Witchcraft I tell ya