Mystery feather soft hackle 2.0

[hankaye]

otto, Howdy;

Hopefully the folks in Japan will mention this in the News;
Seems a flyfisher went and had an unpleasant confrontation
with local wildlife;

https://japantoday.com/category/nationa ... japan-lake

hank

[newriverspey]

Hi Ron,

Sorry for the delayed response, things got a bit hectic. My guess would be a secondary wing feather by looking at the shape of it. I have included a picture of the feather and later this week will take a better picture to show a close up of the feather. This picture does not do the feather justice, especially since I washed and cleaned it after taking this picture. Let me know what you think.

Otto

[newriverspey]

Hank,

I cannot tell you how many bears I have seen. The northern part of Honshu and all of Hokkaido are full of bears, which did surprise me.

Otto

[ronr]

Thanks Otto.. I had been trying to get the same effect with the wing feathers from Canada Goose, and another unknown wing feather I picked up by the river. The barbs on the feathers I've been using aren't as long as the Myna. I have used peacock and can get close. I'm really looking forward to your tutorials when you return and the "zoom" story about your trip.

[hankaye]

otto, Howdy;

Hank,

I cannot tell you how many bears I have seen. The northern part of Honshu and all of Hokkaido are full of bears, which did surprise me.

Otto

Yea, really, who puts Japan and Bears in the same thought, right? Best of luck with the
fishing. Don't forget the bear spray!

hank

[RickA]

Otto,
That definitely looks like a secondary wing feather and with that blue iridescent hue I would guess crow.
And yes, there are crows in Japan and from pictures, they look more like our ravens here than our crows.

I found a large primary from a Bald Eagle last Thursday while fishing the Beaverkill and thought
about your MF soft hackle.
Rick

[ronr]

Otto, I think I got it... tied this on a Firestick 633 size 16, Kimono silk #301, body a herl from a canada goose wing, with xsmall pearl tinsel rib( not visible in my pitiful photo). Hackle from a pheasant skin.

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Otto,
That definitely looks like a secondary wing feather and with that blue iridescent hue I would guess crow.
And yes, there are crows in Japan and from pictures, they look more like our ravens here than our crows.

I found a large primary from a Bald Eagle last Thursday while fishing the Beaverkill and thought
about your MF soft hackle.
Rick

I had to google the mynah to see what one looked like. On the under side of the wing the secondary feathers have a blue hue on them. Never would have thought it to look at the bird.

Those found eagle feathers can get real expensive unless your an enrolled member of a Federally recognized tribe.

[newriverspey]

Hi Ron,

Thanks for the picture of your fly and yes, it looks like you are getting a similar affect. This weekend, I am back in Tokyo and will take pictures of the feather. I first saw a fly tier at the Tokyo show use a barbule form a feather for ribbing and thought it was a great idea. She also would twist the barbule with a single piece of crystal flash as well.

Rick, Ron (Eagle Elk) is correct concerning your found eagle feather. You may want to read up on possessing a feather from a protected/endangered bird. A lot of people forget about owl and heron feathers being illegal to posses as well.

[RickA]

REE, Otto,
I'm well aware that possession of certain feathers are prohibited and that's why I said found, not have.
Theres a large dead elm tree along the river behind my house that is a favorite spot for a few eagles.
They will preen while waiting for a fish to show and as a result, I find quite a few feathers which I stick
into the tree where they just weather away. It kills me that you cant keep a molted feather but that's
the way it is.

REE, several years ago I would visit a Raptor Trust located in New Jersey and by making a donation,
you could obtain a bag of molted feathers with a certificate of origan from the trust.
I've heard of other wildlife rehabs that did the same thing but I don't know if that's still the case.

Thanks guys.