The Whole Pheasant

[zenherper]

I got a pheasant (**** bird) a few weeks ago and have been curing the skin. It is almost ready now. Does anybody have any suggestions for specific flies to tie using parts of the pheasant other than the tails? I would love to hear some of your fly recipe's using as much of the bird as possible.

 

[outsider]

Use you imagination. I just stripped a pheasant about a month ago. Among the feathers are mottled feathers that make good wing cases.

 

[Fishidiot]

I use some of the nicely marked flank and neck feathers for decorative salmon flies.

 

[PennKev]

At one time I had three whole pheasant skins. Seems like a ton of feathers, but the tails ended up being the most used and most useful feathers on the bird. I gave away all three skins and have not had any regrets. Like I said, plenty of feathers but they just didn't prove to be useful.

Kev

 

[midnightangler]

Gartside's sparrow nymph is one of the most versatile nymphs in existence and is tied with pheasant feathers. Make sure you keep the soft marabou-type feathers.

 

[sandfly]

spey flies, crab flies, crayfish, very useful feathers on the bird.

 

[DeweyGreen]

I use a lot of Phesant Feathers for soft hackles.
Neck and under body feathers work great even some of the iridescent colors on the upper and lower back work great..
Pick a few out and let your Imagination run wild , you'll be supprised what you tie..

 

[DeweyGreen]

Heres a good link to start
http://www.jackgartside.com/art_pheasant_feathers.htm

 

[zenherper]

Thanks for all of the responses guys. There are some good ideas here that I can work with.

 

[Chooch]

The ****bird is not as versatile as the hen, but there are still a ton of good feathers on it. My favorite feathers are near the base of the tail. They are similar to the tail feathers but are smaller and solid in color that ranges from a dark red brown to an almost amber color depending on the bird. They are great for tails for mayfly nymphs. They are not as stiff and brittle as the actual tail feathers. The church window feathers can make nice wing pads for stonefly nymphs if you have a burner.

 

[elonDO]

sandfly- you have the recipe for those flies? They're fantastic & would love to try tying some of them up!

 

[GregH]

Pheasant has lots of good feathers as the others have suggested.
Don't ignore the greenish ones for soft hackles or cheeks on streamers.

However I have another 2 suggestions re. the whole skin.
1) Since it is a wild bird, you should consider washing the whole think in Woolite or similar delicate wash solution. (Let it sit for about 30 minutes. You will probably find the water is very dirty, the birds do dust themselves you know. The result will be softer, brighter feathers that are easier to handle.
2) Consider cutting through the skin to separate distinct sections of the skin - and pack each in a separate bag. You will get the mid-lower back, the upper back, the wings, the tail, the breast (probably in 2 parts by now, and the head. It then becomes easier to handle the section you want to survey when you want each kind of feather.

 

[flipnfly]

i like to use pheasant flank the mottled ones in place of partridge on soft hackles and i use some for crayfish claws i love pheasant it has to be some of my favorite tying materials
along with rabbit strips

 

[mte44]

The green feathers on the head of a male pheasant make excellent feather beetles. Take two feathers of the same size and lay one on top of the other. Add a drop of cement or nail polish to the top feather and it will soak in, smooth the feathers back to shape and allow to dry. Peacock herl forms the body of the fly, palmer some black hackle over the peacock and clip the hackle top and bottom. Add the feather and tie off. These will work wonders on trout that have seen a lot of terrestrials over the summer. If the fly gets chewed up don't worry. The trout don't care.