Harvesting fly materials

[Clawsar]

I’m just starting to really get into fly fishing and was thinking the other day about the materials used. Is there any good info on what needs to be done and how for getting things like deer and elk hair, grouse feathers, etc. ready to use? I heard for grouse to just through the skin and feathers in the freezer but that elk had to be tanned to use the hairs.
Any experience or input would be appreciated. Just thinking through any other ways to make use of the animals I already go after.
Thanks!

 

[JLS]

I just flesh the hide and salt it. I just keep small pieces of deer and elk. Takes a long time to go through a very big (12”x 12”) piece of hide.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Marabou from a wild turkey makes some of the best wooly boogers you can imagine.

 

[Clawsar]

I just flesh the hide and salt it. I just keep small pieces of deer and elk. Takes a long time to go through a very big (12”x 12”) piece of hide.

Thanks! So coat it in salt then put it in a bag, or is it shelf stable after that?

 

[JFish]

Not sure about elk or deer hair but for a grouse or other bird we put borax on the skin. We also threw it in the freezer for a while in order to kill any bugs.

 

[JLS]

Thanks! So coat it in salt then put it in a bag, or is it shelf stable after that?

You can keep it in the freezer, but if you salt it and dry it well it will be very shelf stable. I keep them in a bag with some cedar chips for moth repellent.

 

[406LIFE]

Also, fwiw, different parts of the body will have different hair types. Look at that when you pick some to tan/salt. I used borax on the turkeys, chickens, etc I have tanned.

 

[Sawtooth]

I use borax on my big game skins, and just pluck the feathers off of the upland birds I want to keep. The great thing about "hunting" for your own materials is that you can save money and it will open up so many different options for fly patterns of your own design. Pheasant, quail, chukar, huns, turkey, and grouse feathers all have their own color and fiber stiffness, making them options for a variety of both body and wing uses.

 

[LuketheDog]

I just clip little bunches of hair off my deer and elk hides as needed, it's hardly noticeable. If I shoot a grouse I'll just pluck feathers instead of dealing with the skin, and there was a flock of turkeys near where I used to live that would wander too close to the highway sometimes, so I have a bunch of great road-killed turkey feathers bagged up and ready to use.

 

[JLS]

Hungarian partridge makes an excellent wet fly hackle.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

My pa' used to tan my hide,never salted it though...I thought he was gonna pepper it a few times!! 〽

 

[Clawsar]

thanks everyone. This is great!

Any good links to how to tan them well enough? Most of what I had seen was about getting pliable leather, which seems like an excess of work when I’m just looking at the hair (for deer/elk). Or is it as simple as adding salt or borax and letting it sit out back for a couple days? I’ve been know to overthink these things.

 

[JLS]

You just need it dry and clean of flesh to avoid any spoilage.

 

[KipCarson]

Do you know a taxidermist? Every shoulder mount has usually at least a few inches of excess hide trimmed off the back as the mount is being done. Ask your taxidermist to save you a bag of these pieces. They will be already prepped preserved and ready for use.

 

[BrentD]

You can keep it in the freezer, but if you salt it and dry it well it will be very shelf stable. I keep them in a bag with some cedar chips for moth repellent.

Unless you live in a very humid environment live the basement of an unairconditioned midwestern house. Borax after salting helps here.

 

[Paul in Idaho]

I had good success with what the others have said - just salt or borax seemed to work well.

If you get a drake mallard, those green head feathers make great tails on wet flies. I used them for tails and also in a soft hackle style. Getting those short feathers evenly arranged around the shank was a challenge but gave a good result when I got it right. I caught a lot of trout on flies like that.

 

[dcopas78]

My father is a taxidermist so I have a huge supply of all kinds of hair and feathers. Antelope hair makes great material

 

[Gary]

thanks everyone. This is great!

Any good links to how to tan them well enough? Most of what I had seen was about getting pliable leather, which seems like an excess of work when I’m just looking at the hair (for deer/elk). Or is it as simple as adding salt or borax and letting it sit out back for a couple days? I’ve been know to overthink these things.

For fly tying, "pliable", doesn't seem to count, with the exception of rabbit hides. Most big game hair is cut from the hide prior to being tied. Rabbit is the only one I can think of (offhand) where the hide, as well as the fur, is used in the tying process. It is as simple as salting or using borax.

 

[RobG]

If you just salt it the hide can be rock hard, curled up, and greasy. Clean and pliable makes hair easier to work with and less likely to attract dermestids. Here's what I do:
1) Wash the hide in soapy water to get all the blood and grease out of it. Let it soak overnight in clean soapy water.
2) Next morning rise the hide off and squeeze as much water as you can out of it. Don't wring the hide as it's easy to tear when wet. Blot it with a towel.
3) Tack the hide out (hair down) on a frame (or board) stretching it as much as possible without tearing it.
4) Scrape any meat and fat off the hide. It comes off pretty easy after it's water soaked. Leaving small pieces of meat and the snotty stuff is ok as it will be scraped off in step 7.
5) Salt the hide liberally. Try to keep the salt from getting on the hair side.
6) After a few days the salt will crust over and the hide will be completely dried out. In high humidity areas you might have to bring it inside.
7) Use a putty knife and scrape off the salt and the top layer of the hide. The thinner you can make it the more pliable it will be.
8) The edges will be curled and stiff so use a box cutter to cut about 1/2" around the edge of the hide. It should be like cutting through heavy paper. Just cut deep enough to get through the leather or you will wind up cutting the hair. Also cut in the direction the hair is laying or angle the cutter in that direction if cutting perpendicular to the way the hair is laying.

Most people stop at 6, but cleaning and thinning with a putty knife makes a big difference.
That's it.

I've done everything from elk, to whole deer, to muskrat this way.




Or you could just buy it at the store.

 

[Clawsar]

Thanks everyone, especially RobG! I’m sure buying is easier and less expensive, all things considered, but this is just one more way to use the resource and respect the animal I kill.
Thanks again!!