Wood Duck?

[Steven]

Anything up with supplies? I notice Orvis no longer sells it.

[maodiver]

nature doth provide. you need some? PM me your address

[Steven]

No. That's very kind of you. I got some from another shop in town. Chicago is lucky enough to have two.
I stopped by the Orvis shop a couple of weeks ago and was told they no longer carry it (they do sell big bags of wood duck-dyed mallard).

Guy didn't know why.

Anyway, I've been meaning to ask if anybody knew if anything was up, and I finally remembered.

[whatfly]

Feather Craft often has bulk bags that make it much more economical if you do not hunt and use a lot of it. Those little bags of matched feather are just too darn expensive.

[Steven]

Thanks whatfly.

But nobody's heard of a shortage or anything? Steven Tyler putting woodie in his hair?

[Jayatwork]

There always seemed to be a limited supply to me. I have purchased the 1 oz. bags from Feather Craft before. They are mixed and about 2/3 barred feathers. Still probably a better deal than the small packs.

[Byron haugh]

Always get mine from Blue Ribbon in West. Never noticed a shortage there,

[narcodog]

Last year I scored some good lemon wood duck on Ebay. This year it was slim pickins. I use a lot of it and I'm always looking for it. I don't think there is any shortage but not many selling.
Looking at some other DNR sites I saw a large number of woodies posted but no one was willing to give it up. I think many folks think it is illegal to dispose of it.

[wizard]

BANG!!
Wood duck!

[bowfin47]

As one who has (off and on) collected "woodie" feathers for fly tyers more than 30 years, please let me explain a few gut-wrenching facts to ya'...

Wood ducks are not rare. Wood ducks fly south with the teal...and the teal season in southern states is in September... long before the "regular" duck season starts in most states. Oh and ya' can't kill "woodies" in teal season!

Actually, there are large numbers of hunters who pursue them each year and they kill huge numbers of wood ducks in east Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia during the regular duck season each year.

The problem occurs as not only does that each drake have a very small patch of flank feathers under each wing but that wood duck hunters are only very, very, very, rarely cognizant of the desires of fly tyers for those feathers, and these hunters dispose of the feathers so coveted by our ilk. Understand that fly tying is not a prominent hobby in these states, especially in the countryside where these activities occur...

However, if on the opening day of duck season, you can get to a major "take out" where large number of "woodie" hunters launch, upon returning from their hunts, most will give all the flanks that you could every use... The problem is there are very few such "major takeouts"... but there are some at a number of large state run wildlife preserves (flooded timber reserves) that are managed for duck hunting.

However, I no longer live near such preserves, and I too could use a few "woodie" feathers.

Bowfin47