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.

 

[fatoldman]

That looks great. Maybe next hunting season I'll have to try that. My grandaughter would love those flies, when she was little hr favorite color was "pinkly purple".

 

[hooker-of-men]

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

Can you elaborate on this? I almost bought a ringneck at a shop a couple nights ago with the intention of just using it to swap in for hen or whatever larger soft hackle I might be lacking for a given pattern (I already have plenty of smaller partridge). It seemed to have a useful assortment of sizes and colors, but I talked myself out of it because I really don't know the established uses for it.

 

[PennKev]

Can you elaborate on this? I almost bought a ringneck at a shop a couple nights ago with the intention of just using it to swap in for hen or whatever larger soft hackle I might be lacking for a given pattern (I already have plenty of smaller patridridge). It seemed to have a useful assortment of sizes and colors, but I talked myself out of it because I really don't know the established uses for it.

Hen pheasant plumage is much, much difference than male ringnecks and is more like what you would find on other commonly used game birds or hen (chicken) saddles. With the exception of the rump feathers, and of course the tails, I just don't find male ring neck feathers to be all that useful. They just don't meld into the overall look of a fly the way a good mottled hen feather (chicken or pheasant) or Hungarian partridge feather does. Male ringneck feathers always look like male ringneck feathers stuck on a hook IMO.