Pheasant neck feathers, Suggestions ?

[John Raynsford]

Greetings to all ...

Recently acquired two nice olive pheasant skins, I've been admiring the coloring and
sheen of the neck feathers. What flymph patterns would you all suggest for these ?


Good fishing to all ...
John Raynsford
Eagle River, Alaska

[letumgo]

Wonderfully inspiring post John. I can't wait to see what folks can come up with. Makes me want to head to the vice to play.

[Old Hat]

I've brainstormed for years and never found much flymph use for them except for tail fibers.

[narcodog]

I'm with new hat on this. There are a few but darn few IMO. I still like them though. I have yellow dyed skin that is very pretty to look at.

[zen leecher]

The philoplume feathers are very useful on nymphs and such. I don't know if the neck feathers have one attached but the rumps do.

[William Anderson]

Sorry I can't offer anything more helpful regarding flymphs either. The color size and mobility are appealing though and if you have any interest in steelhead, smallies or carp, I'm sure there are lots of guys who would make excellent use of them. If you come up with something i've over looked, I would love to see it. Maybe someone here done nice larger soft hackles using many of the feathers shown on that bird.

Zen is right about the philoplume. I've never made a dent in the bag I have saved up (it's huge) but it's a material that is useful for trout flies. I've even spun and carded some philoplume between waxed silk on a Clark's block. The bodies are cool, the flies look productive but untested. Lance showed me a card of bodies by his father doing exactly the same thing. No mention if he ever tied with them or any flies that used them in his wallet, but it just looks like something that had to be done.

Zen, do you have a pic of your nymphs that use the philoplume?

[Old Hat]

There is definitely a lot of uses for the feathers. Just not much in the flymph category.

There is always The Gimp to use the aftershafts. Not a flymph but a classic wet fly.

http://www.warmwaterflytyer.com/documen ... r-2008.pdf

[zen leecher]

I can post some links and photos to flies Gene Armstrong created. I used to get my eastern WA ice reports from him as he fished the seep lakes over here (where I now live).

Here's a write up (and pictures) Phil Rowley did on the aftershaft leech, one of Gene's creations: http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytyin ... 01fotw.php

Gene's philoflume mayfly nymph: http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/for ... sbs.84462/

Gene did some other philoflume flies that didn't make the fly books. I'd have to check some of my "display and example" flies I've received from others to see what they were. I believe Gene also did a damselfly
nymph.

Here's one I fish the lakes with that uses the philoflume as a tail. It's an Olive Willy, created by William Survey and contrary to the article, stolen by Alan Peterson and claimed as his own: http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Portals/0/ ... 0WILLY.pdf

I don't know how many Olive Willy's I've gone thru.... I'd say at least one box of hooks worth at least.


Bill

[DUBBN]

Google Tabou Caddis

[fflutterffly]

They're so beautiful I'd just come up with some of my own. Using synthetics: Ice dubbing Green with a nice green hackle.