Material preparation is possibly the most important and most underrated part of tying the fully dressed fly. When I use the term material prep, I am talking about cleaning/washing feathers and fur, storing the materials in a way that will allow me to find things in short order, matching feathers for veiling or wings and cleaning feathers.
I mentioned cleaning feathers twice because you can transform a dull and sedate fly to one that shines and dazzles simply by washing the feathers beforehand. Feathers attract and hold dust and since most birds are raised in dust filled environments, they will come to the tyer dirty even if they don’t look like it. Dyed feathers are much more likely to be clean than undyed feathers, but a quick washing of them can’t hurt.
Clean feathers are also easier to work with. Those who’ve used it know that Golden Pheasant center tail feathers are notoriously difficult to use in a married wing because the barbules are structurally weaker than other feathers. Some tails will be naturally better than others but washing out the dust will usually unclog the barbules of even the weakest of feathers. This may take more than one washing to do but the results will be worth the effort.
I suggest washing most if not all feathers, but particularly those that will be used as married wing material and those that will show prominently such as full feather wings and sides. Bronze Mallard that will be used for Spey wings will also be much improved by washing.
When washing a full skin I put it into pretty hot, soapy water, quickly agitate it and rinse it off. You don’t want to leave it in the water too long or the wings and tail will begin to rehydrate and require a long drying time before you can return it to storage. Even a quick washing will require a couple days drying to fully remove all moisture. After the skin is removed from its bath, I use a hair dryer to blow dry the inside of the skin first to make it easier to handle. Then I use the dryer to blow dry all of the feathers. You can also suspend the skin in front of a fan but the hair dryer seems faster and better to me.
Important. When any feathers or skins have been washed or dyed, they must be jostled about as they dry so the barbs and barbules will realign. If allowed to dry bent, they will tend to take on that shape and that isn’t a good thing.
When the feathers/skins are FULLY dried, you can store them in zip-loc bags. You can also use the above info on most hair/fur but you will usually want to stretch the hide while it dries so it will be flexible. Bird skins are so thin that it doesn’t make much sense to stretch them. At least to me it doesn’t.
Storing materials is also one of the underrated things we tyers do. I don’t expect that I am typical of most tyers but I have a huge amount of tying stuff to take care of. In fact, it takes up most of the space of a room that is about 17’ X 17’! I have found that the plastic Rubbermaid type boxes are best to store feathers and fur in because they are transparent so you can see what is in them and they stack easily making them use space efficiently. I use blue labels on boxes that describe the contents for feathers and white for fur and other stuff. They are also stacked with the feathers together and fur the same. This way, I can find exactly what I need in a matter of seconds.
My hooks occupy about a dozen large 21-compartment boxes and half that of somewhat smaller boxes. All are labeled with hook style. Extra hooks and, for that matter, feathers and fur are in large plastic boxes and hooks generally in labeled cardboard boxes. Tinsels, thread, yarn, dubbing and any number of other items are given similar treatment. My “working” boxes are stacked in book shelves, in cabinets or on dollies in front of those. My tying bench has the most used stuff in boxes or small drawered cabinets on my bench. Everything has its place and I try to keep them there and my bench as uncluttered as possible. Finding what you need and finding it clean and ready to use will make your vise time more enjoyable.
I spend countless hours at material prep, much more than tying time. I bet the ratio of prep vs. tying is at least 10 to 1. A lot of time, but it pays off when I want to tie. Feathers are clean, many are paired and stored; threads, tinsels, hooks and all ready to go at a moment’s notice. Even if you don’t have a fraction of the stuff I have, your material prep time is important and I am confident that if you do as I have outlined above, your vise time and even your flies will be better for it.
Happy Trails! Ronn Lucas, Sr.
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