Please tell a newb about gathering and storing feathers.

[downriver79]

I have literally never tied a fly and don't yet own a vise, but have been really considering it and plan to pick one up to start self teaching over the winter. I have a Toulouse goose who is starting his annual molt. I've been collecting his feathers for future use. Is there any particular way they should be stored or treated in any way for better preservation? What feathers would be the most useful? Are goose feathers even useful for tying flies, or am I wasting my time collecting them? Thanks in advance for any input or advice!

 

[Zak]

I have literally never tied a fly and don't yet own a vise, but have been really considering it and plan to pick one up to start self teaching over the winter. I have a Toulouse goose who is starting his annual molt. I've been collecting his feathers for future use. Is there any particular way they should be stored or treated in any way for better preservation? What feathers would be the most useful? Are goose feathers even useful for tying flies, or am I wasting my time collecting them? Thanks in advance for any input or advice!

I have a great store of feathers and fur and I am paranoid about bugs, carpet beetles, and mites from "wild" feathers. People sometimes give me a scap of rabbit fur or a dropped duck feather and I fear them.

Someone else will probably weigh in on how the treat/prepare wild feathers. My thoughts are:

1. Ziplock bags are your friend. All my natural materials are in ziplocks, which if nothing else should help prevent a spread of infestation.

2. I have heard that if you freeze wild materials, that will kill the live bugs but not the eggs/nits. So I freeze wild materials for weeks or months, then let them thaw for a few days to a week, then refreeze them. All without opening the ziplock bag. Honestly, most of these materials never come out of the freezer again.

3. This seems like good info: https://darkskiesflyfishing.com/pos...1iP48_27Mm1qRPaXjugHulweAqQZsHOWqf9pLNk1F2kE4

4. I have and like this "Simple Flies" book, you might like it, too: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/Bo...cVUB1mwnL9ukLjA3732D6vG-8iTbD2exoCEroQAvD_BwE

 

[downriver79]

Thanks Zak! I'd considered freezing them, as that is what my wife has always done if she picks up any neat feathers out in the wild so that they don't transmit bugs to our goose.

 

[Zak]

I forgot to add, goose feathers are used in many ways for fly tying (look up goose "biots").

Here's a nice video on a fly that I tie and fish a lot:

It doesn't use goose feathers, but you could swap them in for the pheasant tail.

 

[Zak]

Harvest Your Own - Ducks and Geese

With waterfowl seasons just getting under way, it is a great time to think about harvesting waterfowl feathers for fly tying. It is easy to go a little crazy and keep everything but it is really not necessary. One quick note to be sure you are doing it legally - at least in Wisconsin - I quote...

www.thescientificflyangler.com

 

[clarkman]

ooof, yeah....I'm with Zak. I don't like anything wild near my stuff. For me it's all of my high end bucktail that could be affected. I have it separated out by color so it would probably only screw up some of it, but I tie so much with it that I'd hate to lose any of it.

 

[kmudgn]

Contact your local TU chapter and/or fly shops. Most (all?) sponsor tying classes. Also, check Craigs List for local sales of vises. Don't spend a ton of money on your first vise. Get a feel for the "art" before making a large money commitment