[tkww]

What am I looking for? Hen neck? Indian Hen? I'm looking for feathers to use as nymph legs or conceivably as soft hackle-style tie-ins. Legs for a prince nymph, for example, or some hackling for a stonefly nymph. I'd love to have a variety of sizes (for hackling or for different leg lengths when doing a pull-over style).

I've seen hen "neck" for $5 and for $25. What gives? I need some black and brown...my intention was go go cheap. Anyway, some pointers or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Preston]

Lots of choices available here, Indian hen, partridge, quail, any small grouse feather. One of my favorites is to tie in a strip of pheasant tail feather with the tips projecting out over the eye of the hook, I then tie down the strip by winding the thread back to the point where I wish to begin the wingcase, wind the thread forward, fold the wingcase forward and tie it down, then stroke the forward-pointing tips down and back to form the legs, take a few turns of thread to hold them there then form the head.

 

[tkww]

Thanks Preston.

Are you talking about making a case like on a PT nymph? Or are using the "butt" of the legs as a wing case, and tips just being tips (IOW, not a continuation of the wingcase like a PT nymph)?

I have grouse and partridge. In fact I think I have some died black partridge. But I'm looking for a beefier, webbier feather too. Probably need to make a trip to a good fly shop and start looking....

 

[Brian Thomas]

Hen backs are nice .

 

[Randy Diefert]

Mallard flank feathers work good for that too.

 

[Preston]

View attachment 33054 Here's a picture which I hope will make it clear. I tie in the strip with the tips projecting out over the eye of the hook. I wrap the strip down all the way to what will be the back end of the wingcase. At this point I usually wrap some dubbing or such to bulk up the thorax then fold the strip forward to form the wingcase, tie it down behind the eye and cut it off. The final step is to work the legs down and back before finishing the head..

 

[Brian Thomas]

Nice mayfly nymph Preston. That fly would fish well up here in the Kamloops area .

 

[Preston]

I reckon it would. I specifically designed it to represent a Callibaetis nymph because I was dissatisfied with what was available. Callibaetis nymphs are very slender and are active swimmers capable of quite rapid bursts of swimming for up to six inches at a time.

 

[Stewart]

Take a look at emu feathers. They are similar to ostrich plumes, but longer and spikier thingamabobs that stick out from the stem. Not too sure about colors, I only have black. They might not work, because I'm not positive I understand your intended use, but they make some neat looking legs.