Hen Pheasant

[fatoldman]

Is hen pheasant a reasonable substitute for partridge feathers? I can get hen pheasant free in hunting season.

 

[turkey]

I would use it as a substitute.

 

[fatoldman]

Thank you. I'm not trying to be cheap by not buying a partridge skin but I wanted to try tying flies with material I collected myself.

 

[Tups]

Hen pheasant makes a very nice soft hackle fly. It’s not a lookalike sub for partridge, which is speckled. Pheasant gives a mottled effect. Very effective.

 

[Bamboozle]

Is hen pheasant a reasonable substitute for partridge feathers? I can get hen pheasant free in hunting season.

If you are tying fishing flies, not classic patterns for show or shadow boxes, for the most part it doesn't matter what material you substitute.

 

[dc410]

Hen pheasant have great feathers for tying soft hackle flies. As stated above, you’re not going to get the same look as partridge but that’s really not critical for catching fish.

Here is a hen pheasant skin that I had dyed pink as well as some of my pink Sparrow Nymphs that I tied with this skin for Salmon in Alaska.

 

[PennKev]

Is hen pheasant a reasonable substitute for partridge feathers? I can get hen pheasant free in hunting season.

You will get a far closer substitute by shopping hen saddles which are much cheaper than Hun's.

That said, a hen pheasant is much more useful than a male ring neck IMO.