One of our more popular general purpose flies has been the old Muddler Minnow. Lately however, there seems to be a scarsity of turkey wing feathers. The mottled wing feathers are priced out-of-sight and even the frowned upon barred wing broads are selling for several dollars a pair where before they were considered inappropriate for this tie. The poorly simulated mottled broads (those with the sprayed-on color dots) are hard to find. In my tying classes, one of our final ties is the Muddler and I hate to abandon it. I can’t even find any hen pheasant wings that would allow us to tie “Mini-Muddlers”.
Suggestions are appreciated.
Check your pm
I had a line on some hen phesant wings and pelts but it went down the gutter. Anyone know where to get a few, checked ebay but none there.
tie marabou muddlers.
I often use Amherst Pheasant as a wing/tail Muddler Minnow substitute when I don’t have turkey. The AP has the mottled look and the fish bite them just as well for me as the original turkey ones.
Hook and Hackle had some turkey feathers at reasonable prices last I looked. Unfortunately everyone I know raises the white birds.
REE
Not sure, what they have in stock at the moment… but I’ve always gotten great turkey feathers from; http://www.feather-craft.com
On their home page, upper right, type “turkey” into the search box. Typing in “turkey feathers” or “turkey wings”, seems to always bring up “no such item in stock”!??
Looks like I need to get serious about my turkey hunting…
I like peacock wing feathers for muddler wings. Ronn Lucas should be able to fix you up with some of those.
Steve
Next time I pass a road kill I’ll fix you up.
We’ve got wild birds out the wazzoo and very few actually hunt them.
so we get lots of birds thumped on the highway.
I have some “matched” wing feathers from a road kill a few years ago. I’d be happy send a couple pairs to you in exchange for a couple of tied muddlers. PM your addy and I’ll get them out to you on Monday.
Joe
Believe it or not, I get my turkey feathers from Hobby Lobby, in the craft section. They are cheap and work well.
I’ve abandoned the old Muddler and gone to the ‘Kiwi’ version as tied by Jack Dennis.
Uses a piece of rabbit hide/hair for the wing. Easy to get, looks great in the water, and it’s easier to tie.
Outstanding fly for browns and bass.
Buddy Sanders
i havnt tied a tremendous amaount of muddlers, but i just use other feathers that are similar in size and color for the wing. ive never had a problem with them and they look exactly the same in the water except with i slight difference in color
I’ve never tied a Muddler, but here is a question: Could you tie one as a bucktail, instead? That would eliminate the need for wing feathers.
Just curious.
I saw this in an old book, Jack Dennis’ WESTERN TROUT FLY TYING MANUAL (1974, Snake River Books):
(Caption of a photograph looking down on the hook):
“Notice how wing is curved. This is looking straight down onto hook. Some take one quill from a right and one from a left. I prefer to use quill segments from both sides of the same quill. This will give a little hook to the wing as shown. This renders more action to the fly when going through the water. I have made tests on this and have proved conclusively that this is a much better wing. It also makes turkey quills go twice as far.”
I’m not sure how much ‘better’ is it, but the part about making those expensive quills go twice as far might be of interest.
Good Luck!
Buddy
I might be off base on this, but IMO the only quills that will work this way are the ones with symmetrical sides (quills closer to the body). As the quills move toward the tips of the wings, one side of the quill becomes more narrow until you get to the point where that side is only useful as biots. I fail to see how Jack Dennis can apply his statement for all of the flight feathers. This is why we pair feathers, one from each wing. Also, once paired, both sides of each quill are able to be matched. You just end up with a shorter pair from the narrow side. This is how I fully utilize a matched pair of turkey flight feathers, and my muddler wings are symmetrical on the top and the tail.
Am I missing something in Mr Dennis’ interpretation? I guess a picture might help, because I disagree with him after a couple of quills from the body. You can see this in the matched pairs in the picture I have posted above. It’s very obvious that the sides are unequal.
Joe
Guys a Muddler is a “style” of minnow. Though patterns often state that a particular feather be used to tie these, and many other flies fall into this same vein, have fun with them.
Use any feather from any land bird you can get a suitable wing and tail from. Water birds are often great for this also, after all we use duck and goose for many wet flies.
A great thing about fly tying is being creative and thinking “outside the book”
A White feather can be dyed and spatter speckled using a paint brush. But please do this outside, your wife may not appreciate a mottled coffee table.
And as my screen name for many years has been “muddler” (the original “muddler”) I give you all my official Okey, Dokey to tie with substitute materials as you wish.
Good tying, and great fishing!
George E Emanuel
aka “muddler”
Guys a Muddler is a “style” of minnow. Though patterns often state that a particular feather be used to tie these, and many other flies fall into this same vein, have fun with them.
Use any feather from any land bird you can get a suitable wing and tail from. Water birds are often great for this also, after all we use duck and goose for many wet flies.
A great thing about fly tying is being creative and thinking “outside the book”
A White feather can be dyed and spatter speckled using a paint brush. But please do this outside, your wife may not appreciate a mottled coffee table.
And as my screen name for many years has been “muddler” (the original “muddler”) I give you all my official Okey, Dokey to tie with substitute materials as you wish.
Good tying, and great fishing!
George E Emanuel
aka “muddler”
PS: What’s this “Junior Member” crap?
If you make a few more posts you will become a Senior Member. I don’t know how many more maybe 10 +/-.
