wood duck feathers

[Takem]

I plan on starting to tie flies this winter. I shot a few wood ducks today and I'm wondering what feathers I should save and how should I preserve them?
Thanks,
Brad

 

[DavidFin]

Save the barred ones, clean them as best you can and then stick them in the freezer for at least a month to kill bacteria.

 

[GenCon]

Good for you. I went out did not get any shots. Saw a couple long range. As for you question. You need to at least save all the flank feathers. Many classic dry flys call for wood duck for wings. The barred ones have more use for salmon tiers. Although you can find some uses for them. Beyond that, wing quills can be used as well for wings for wet and dry flies.

GenCon

 

[sandfly]

skin it out and borax the skin, spread out on newspaper, cover with newspaper and place a heavy flat object on top for a week. add more borax every couple days to help get rid of grease in skin. take the wings and cut slit in the meaty part and add borax. best way to preserve duck, have several stored this way along with dozens of wings. if you pluck the feathers place in coffee can with a moth ball is best.

 

[Takem]

thanks for the info.