gathering your own fly tying materials
Another thread had me thinking about gathering some more of my fly tying materials for myself this season instead of buying them. It sure is nice to buy material since things are already dyed the proper color and there is less worry about bugs etc. I'm just getting frugal in my old age, some would say damn cheap.
I was referred to this book a while ago, but have never seen it myself:
http://www.amazon.com/Field-Fly-Tier...0109757&sr=8-2
I have a friend who raises domestic turkeys, chickens and ducks. I also hunt for pheasant, grouse, wild turkey, deer and could take squirrels and rabbits even though I don't these days.
So the question is, do you think that it is worth it prepping your own materials? I don't really think that I would be into road kill stuff, but harvesting my own materials would give you a sense of creating the fly from beginning to end a little more. Maybe the effort isn't worth it and wanted to see what the rest of you thought. Thanks for the comments.
Rick
A question of time vs money----& bugs!
Hi Clay,
You raise a very good question and you are actually the only one who can decide on the answer. How valuable is your time and how fugal are you? If you've become hopeless frugal, you won't mind going through hours of work preparing, curing and dyeing that deer hide. If you would rather be tying flies, fishing, spending time with your kids or just goofing off, the deer hide isn't worth it. Also, do you really need a whole deer skin? A couple of bucktails and a couple of patches deer hair hold me pretty well for any given season. I prefer a nice, clean, odor-free package of material at what I consider to be a very reasonable cost.
The bug problem is very real. Even with care, free materials can be a ticking time bomb. I've had three or four bug problems since I started tying and all of them could be traced to hunter's gifts and road kill. I'm not implying that you can't make these material safe, I'm just saying there is a risk.
And don't forget the problems of disease and game laws.
I would rather buy what I need in nice clean packages at a reasonable price. I've done both and I definitely prefer the prepared materials. Now if I ran over a Whiting silver cape or a complete silver pheasant skin, I would stop and pick it up. Just my 2% of a dollar; I'm sure other will disagree. 8T :)
BTW, loose feather and quills are a different story. I will definitely take those when available. Turkey quills, duck breast feathers, etc----definitely yes. Skins, masks, etc----definitely no!