I was given some Blue and Gold Macaw tailfeathers.....

Fly Patterns
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1

Seven on them. Same size, if not a little bigger, than Pheasant Tails. What patterns can I tie with them? I’m a warm-water fly-fisher, but thankfully, Bluegills like Trout flies.

I’ve also got at least one body feather, and either a secondary flight feather or a covert feather. My wife thinks there’s another bag of body feathers out in her SUV somewhere.

2

I have used some of those feather on any fly that I use for warmwater.
hook size 10 to 14
tail maaccaw feathers barbs
body yellow flosss real half, red floss front.
wing Blue peacock neck feather barbs
hackle brown.

Rick

3

I’m not aware of a lot of flies where that material is used other than salmon flies, However, for trout of panfish you can take a few fibers, tye in by the tips, place some head cement on the hook shank and wrap the fibers, gold side up, for the body. Or counter-wrap the body with fine wire to protect it. You should get a nice grenish/olive.

Allan

4

There is an old traditional grayling pattern that uses a body wound with blue/yellow Macaw. Tommy’s Favourite It is a dry fly akin to the Witch series of flies.
Hook: Dry fly size 14 to 18
Thread: Red.
Body: Blue Yellow Macaw tail fibres wound.
Hackle: Honey Dun.

When wound the macaw feathers vary in colour depending on the angle of view. Allan’s tip about a little head cement on the body will make the fly stronger.
This is the only one I know of.
Cheers,
A.

5

If the barbs are shaped like pheasant tail fibers use instead of pheasant tails and have a different colored pheasant tail nymph or whatever else you would use a pheasant tail to tie. If they are shaped like biots, use accordingly.

6

In Ed Engle’s excellent Tying Small Flies, he discusses a pattern, the Macaw Midge, tied with fibers from their tail feathers; as Uncle Jesse suggested, wound like a biot with the ridge up it created a yellow/gold body with a prominent blue edge. A friend gave me some macaw feathers that his bird had molted; cool looking fly, tied some but haven’t tried them.

Regards,
Scott

7

Thanks everyone.

Scott, do you have a picture of your midge? What size?

8

Allen,

Sorry, but I don’t have any with me; pretty simple fly, macaw body, white zelon
wing and a dubbed head. Mr. Engle tied his on a #18 scud hook; here’s a link to the book which shows a pic of the fly:
http://books.google.com/books?id=WxpvoYxhMXUC&pg=PA207&lpg=PA207&dq=ed+engle+macaw+feather+midge&source=bl&ots=Wu-_FaBdCJ&sig=q9HBZy7flpk8HxZkbsetsdwiMqo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=uGFOUdmVAYe9yQGhzIGwDw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=ed engle macaw feather midge&f=false

I tied some of mine with a mercury bead head, too.

Regards,
Scott