Which feathers to save for fly tying ??

[Gellar]

I bought a fly tying kit a while back, but haven't busted it out yet. If I am successful during the Spring turkey season, which feathers should I save and what flies can I use them for? wing, tail, body, all?

 

[kansasdad]

Wing feathers for grasshoppers. Sticklers claim you should use paired wing feathers so the fibrils curve upwards on both sides. Many recipes state that a flexible cement be applied to the feathers to lengthen usability.
Commercially prepared marabou feathers are died butterball type turkey under feathers. I have never kept /used any of that.

Traditional archers also use wing feathers for fletching.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

You can save the tail feathers for a caddis imitation. I don't use turkey very much, you'll definitely want some pheasant skins and tails, as well as Hungarian partridge.

 

[dcopas78]

I use wing feathers for the biots (stonefly nymph tails) and wing limitations with the web portion of the feather. I also use the tail feathers, coated in fleximent, for wing case or caddis wings - especially cinnamon caddis or brown/black caddis. The more mottled the feather is, the better in my opinion. Be warned, fly tying is extremely addictive!