ScottV a couple picture for you

[skiptomylu]

I took a few picture that were closer than the others on my Cree Skin so thought I would show you the close up pics. This is a beautiful bird for sure.

Skip

The cape and notice the shades of colors...


Saddle...


Another part of the Saddle...

[bxn]

looks nice skip!they'd make some nice flies n jigs

[Micropterus salmoides]

Purrrrrrty! Those things are expensive, eh? Where'd they come from?
They'd be more decorative than anything, right?
I rescued the corpse of a barn owl that has some wonderfulness it still wants to contribute to the world for years to come.
and my nephew is SUPPOSED to be alerting me of a rooster slaughter. I wish I liked buck and squirrel more..with all the hunting around the way.
How is turkey used?

Adam

[skeetbum]

Be careful about birds of prey. Skip can probably tell you more than me.

[skiptomylu]

Purrrrrrty! Those things are expensive, eh? Where'd they come from?
They'd be more decorative than anything, right?
I rescued the corpse of a barn owl that has some wonderfulness it still wants to contribute to the world for years to come.
and my nephew is SUPPOSED to be alerting me of a rooster slaughter. I wish I liked buck and squirrel more..with all the hunting around the way.
How is turkey used?

Adam

Like Skeet said you got to be very careful with birds of prey. I don't know about Owls, but you can't even pick up a Bald Eagle feather without breaking the federal laws and they will put you under the jail.

Turkey tail feathers are use for lots of flies and they use the barbules off the big feathers as body of a fly or the tail. Lots of good things.

Most any bird can be used for jigs or flies, but the feathers you see in this thread are for flies primarily and especially dry flies. However I plan on tying some small jig with some for big blue gills too. These are really to costly for jig use to sell for sure. I have a lot of feathers for jigs and several ways of using them, but the same ones can be used on flies in some ways, but when quality counts this kind of feather is what you want. These birds have not had any out side blood entered into them for over 40 years and they are special in more ways that just pretty. Even the stems on this hackle is oval and not round to help it not rotate when tying.

Decorative is not what these are bread for, however even people now are buying nice capes and saddles for tying ear rings. These are not going for that unless I make some for my wife. These are some of the finest fly tying hackle that can be bought and this color is more rare too.

Usually I just will buy a cape or saddle, but every once in a while I will buy a whole skin. They skin them out and treat them with borax I suppose, tack them to a board to dry. Below I will put one whole skin picture for you to see. Oh and these high end hackle came from Conranch Hackle farms.

Skip

This picture doesn't really show the shades and colors right like the close up pictures above, but is the same bird.

[ScottV]

Thanks for showing those Skip, they are so purty I may make one of those my new wallpaper on my computer. LOL The coloration is unreal to be natural and undyed. I don't think I would let the dog play with that! LOL It's amazing how they can breed roosters to have the colors and quality feathers like that. I bet the genetics are guarded closer than the Col. Sander's Secret recipe.

Scott

[skiptomylu]

LOL if you really decide to do that let me know and I will send one that has not been re-sized yet and is a lot bigger so better pic for that size. I am told that the fish really like the Cree colors. You should read about Cree on FAOL as Denny wrote a nice article about it. I am told that 6 years ago this skin would have cost me $1000 if you could find one, but through research and all he has found a way to get more than people use to think. It was said that a Cree only came around one in every 250,000 birds, but he's doing better than that now.

That is one beauty of a bird huh?

Skip

[ScottV]

That is one beautiful bird for sure! Thanks for showing us.

[Redman]

Skip: now that is a nice skin. I have a neck that color thats one I bought it 15 years or more ago when I was tying alot of trout flies. Now I am getting concerned about some of the rare material I have. BTW since I am native american ( First Nation ) we can pick up Eagle feathers. I have and they are always gifted to one of the tribal elders or to some who has done good for the tribe or the people. My wife who is Chreokee was gifted one and she gifted it to a young girl who won her first dance contest at a Pow Wow that we attended. That is the wheel of life.

Redman

[skiptomylu]

Yes Redman I knew Native Americans could pick up and use the Eagle Feathers, but other than you guys hardly anyone can and still not have a big problem. I don't know who, but there are some that have permission to pick them up other than Native Americans, but I am sure it's people that have some kind of reason to do so.

We get to see them around here a good bit, what a majestic bird they are. I know every time I hear someone killed one I hope they put them in jail and throw away the key.

Skip