I am tying up a bunch of western style pheasant tail nymphs (tied with thread, the copper wire for ribbing only, peacock herl thorax) in small sizes 18-24.

I would like some help from more experianced tyers on what to look for when selecting feathers.

Some of my pheasant tails are asymetrical, with fuzzy brown tipped fibers on one side and less bulky, less fuzzy thinner fibers on the other. I assume I want the brown tipped ones for the fuzzy gill like charactoristics, so is the other side just waste?