Much has been written about the soft feather behind the feather to tie small soft hackles. I have yet to have one withstand the rigors of lasting more than one fish ,or completely self destucting within 20 minutes. Ostrich hearl ,espescially from a large plume is by far better. Has anyone had any success getting one of the filoplume feathers to stay together,or is this just filler material in fly tying books?
I also do not feel they are very duable, so, I do not use them.
I twist the small feather from a pheasant on thread to make leeches. You could also rib counter clock wise on the feather to make it more durable. I think the filoplume has more action than the ortrich herl, But the ostrich herl will keep the hackles of a soft hackle in place better.
I am sure you are talking about the “aftershaft” not the “filoplume” but if you really are talking about “filoplume” I for one would like to see a picture of the fly you are tying. Some day I would hope these so called experts that are writing articals and calling the aftershaft a filoplume will get it right. The filoplume to my knowledge is unusable as fly tying material.
The aftershaft can be tied into a very durable fly by tying it in by the butt then spinning it onto the tying thread. Don’t spin it onto the thread like you are dubbing. Just get ahold of the thread and the very tip of the feather and spin in one direction. Wrap the completed rope just like you would chinnelle. Works for bluegill flies to catch 30 - 40 fish without comming apart.
I will be tying flies for the North Coast Fly Fishers shoy next Saturday if anybody going to that show would like to see how it is done.
fishbum
For clarifications sake only could you show pics of each fishbum? It would be appreciated…and I won’t be referring wrongly anymore as I suspect I must be presently…
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
This is kind of interesting re: that feather…
Sure can. Take a look at the following web page.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=15+1829&aid=2776
fishbum
Thanks fishbum, so to be clear on ‘aftershaft’ per the diagrams, the ‘after feather’ is the same thing?
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Those are not “filoplumes”, they are aftershaft feathers. To make them more durable, tie them in by the tip, and then twist or wrap the feather around the tying thread, before winding it on to the hook. One may also “dub” such feathers by tearing or cutting the fibres off, and dubbing them on to the thread, or using a split thread or dubbing loop technique.
Filoplumes are not normally usable for fly-dressing, they are a special purpose feather on birds;
http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/feather-filoplume.html
An aftershaft is basically defined as a double feather that grows from the shaft of a body feather. An after-shaft is important in maintaining warmth and is known to occur in grouse, quail, pheasants and various related birds. Also Known As: after-feather, hypoptile or semiplume.( But a “semiplume” is really a completely separate feather, not an aftershaft);
http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Birds/feather-semiplume.html
Turkey “marabou” ( Usually sold simply as “marabou”) feathers are semiplumes.
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=72158&rendTypeId=35
On the bird they look like a very soft feather growing behind the base of other feathers;
Many many people WRONGLY call these feathers “filoplumes”. There are a lot of other cases where people use incorrect nomenclature, and this causes a lot of confusion. Some misuse is so widespread that it has become “standard”. like the use of “Quill” for “rachis”. ( See picture above).
Some feather definitions;
Afterfeather attached at the base of contour feathers; small plumulaceous feathers which may or may not have a shaft.
Barbicel a collective term referring to all the processes found on the barbule that interlock to create the vane.
Barbs sing ramus, pl rami; fibers that extend off the flattened sides of the shaft in parallel rows generally opposing one another; somewhat ovoid in cross-section; filled with a pithy material containing air cells.
Barbules sing radius, pl radii; extend out from either side of the barbs; each is ribbon-like from the base to about half way to the tip and whip-like over the distal half.
Basal Lamella ribbon-like base of the barbule; ventral teeth are attached to the under surface.
Bastard Wing sing alula; feathers that lie flat during normal flight, but extend out when flying slowly to prevent stalling.
Bristles generally found on bird’s heads; stiff with a tapered shaft having barbs only on the proximal portion of the shaft.
Contour Feathers cover the bird’s body; typically broad, thin, curving inward toward the skin, and directed toward the tail in overlapping rows; help to smooth and streamline the body for flight.
Dorsal Flanges trough-shaped proximal barbules that are more twisted than the distal barbules; hooklets overlap and attach to the flanges.
Flight Feathers include the tail feathers and wing feathers as well as supplemental feathers that cover the adjacent upper and under surfaces.
Filoplume synonymous with thread feather; hair-like feather with barbs at the end of the shaft, always intimate to other feathers (from one to twelve adjacent a feather,) but grow out of their own follicles.
Hooklets pl hamuli; hooked barbicel structures on the distal barbules that overlap and attach to opposing dorsal flanges.
Pennaceous referring to barbs having barbules with barbicels that interlock adjacent barbs.
Pennulum whip-like tip of the barbule; hooklets are attached to the proximal, ventral portion with the dorsal spines and dorsal cilium attached to the remainder of the pennulum.
Pinfeather any feather that is immature.
Plumulaceous referring to downy like barbs having barbules without barbicels.
Primary Wing Feathers typically 10-11 in number; attach to the middle digit and the hand; asymmetrical in vane structure with the their leading and trailing margins notched.
Quill sing calamus; that portion of the feather that is inserted in the skin follicle. It is cylindrical, transparent, and hollow having no barbs attached.
Secondary Wing Feathers from 9 to 40 in number; attach to the ulna of the forearm.
Semiplume a plumulaceous vaned feather (i.e., marabou.)
Shaft sing rachis; that portion of the feather that the barbs are attached to; flattened on the sides that support the barbs; roughly rectangular in cross section; filled with a pithy material that contains air cells.
Spines ventral processes on the distal barbules that stop the hooklets from sliding too far and collapsing the vane.
Tail Feathers pl rectrices; large, stiff in texture, asymmetric, have vanes that are almost entirely pennaceous, and lack afterfeathers; act as a stabilizer tilting the front of the body up and down, as well as an air brake.
Tertiary Wing Feathers attach to the humerus.
Upper and Under Tail Covert Feathers smooth and streamline the tail of the bird.
Vane sing vexillum; the web of a feather which includes all the flat, expanded barbs, as well as any attached barbules, and barbicels which provide the surface for an airfoil in flight feathers and for covering and insulation in contour feathers.
Vaned Feathers a collective term generally referring to a feather that has at least some interlocked barbs as seen in contour, wing, and tail feathers on birds that can fly.
Web synonymous with vane.
Wing Coverts pl tectrices; cover the upper and lower wing surfaces and the bases of the wing feathers.
Wing Feathers pl remiges; usually large, stiff in texture, asymmetric, have vanes that are almost entirely pennaceous, and lack afterfeathers; used for steering.
TL
MC
EDIT: I see Fishbum already gave an excellent reply on this, I should have read the thread first!
Fishbum and Mike,
Thanks for the ineresting and enlightening articles. You can never have too much information.
REE
Thanks FISHBUM for the clarification----we have to use the correct name. A good example of a great fly tied with the aftershaft is the Gartside Sparrow.
Best way I’ve found to use them is to use split thread method (not dubbing loop)- insert the feather, spin until the feather is bound and wrap. Thread like Danville works very well for this, Uni will cause a lot of frustration.
Regards,
Scott
Thank you Mike Connor and others for your information. Mike that is the feather was using, the aftershaft, , the only thing I can do is to us fine wire for re-enforcement. I have a Blue Quail i am now using, which has a nice Dun color on my #20 hooks after abandoning the aftershart/filoplume feather failure. I qot the quail from Blue ribbon Flies, West Yellowstne. Thanks to all who chimed in, heinrich
This thread has some very good information. I’ve learned a lot. I have tied several flies with aftershaft feathers. The aftershaft feather from the head on the lady amherst pheasant. This for the wing on the Gimp. The aftershaft feater from a ring neck pheasant. This for the collar on the Sparrow.
Sorry, I got mixed up on the types of feathers.