fly tying material alternatives

[C&R]

OK, I didn't mean for any of this to get personal.

One last question about wood duck feathers. Am I incorrect in assuming that a whole feather is used (notice I wrote used and not wasted) when making wings for a dry fly. This link is giving me that impression. If so, tying dries with wood duck feathers vice mallard feathers is a really expensive option.

 

[Pete]

I think what you're seeing is the difference between tying as an art, and tying for utilititarian purposes. If you're tying as an art form, there are no substitute materials. If you just want to fish, substitutions and omissions are permissible.

Since you asked about substitutions, I don't think anyone was out of line when they suggested a few possibilities.

Conversely, I wasn't offended when Andy reminded us of the traditions and beauty of properly tied classics. The skills and attention to detail involved are worthy of our respect.
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I can get several sets of wings from a medium or large size flank feather, but only one of them will be tied "properly". The rest are just makeshift bunches of fibers taken from the rest of the feather and tied in. Since I don't sell or display my work, only the fish are able to judge the results.

The link you posted appears to have selected a small feather, of the exact size required for the fly being tied. The only "waste" appeared to be the part of the feather without suitable wing fibers.

 

[Andy B]

Pete:

Could'nt have said it any better myself.


Thanks

Andy B

 

[C&R]

I was checking out Pete's recipe for his soft hackle hare's ear when I came across another cool site by googling wing feather biots since I had no idea what they were. The site also shows how to use biots for body material as well.

 

[biot]

I use turkey biots for most of my dryfly bodies abdomens on all styles ( comparaduns,parachutes,downwing spinners and traditional hackled patterns) and poly for the thorax on parachutes,comparaduns and downwing spinners. The biots give the fly a more realistic profile from the segmentations created by winding the biots around the hook. Just follow the insructions from the link you found