How do you prepare a pheasant skin so it doesn’t start to stink?
Put lots of Borax on the Skin Side and leave it outside for a few days. Be sure and lay it out in the way you want it when it is dried.
It’s pretty much as Millerwb stated, simply scrape all the fat/flesh from the skin and tack it down on a board feathers down. Now, rub in 20 Mule Team Borax into the skin and finish with a thin layer of Borax all over the skin. Put it in a warm dry place and let it dry like this for a couple of weeks. The skin will be paper thin and it will last for years with no smell at all.
Jim Smith
Thanks for the information. My brother berlongs to a club where they have hunts on a regular basis. Too salty for me but a source of skins.
It’s all right here.
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Happy Trails!
Ronn
Dave,
You can use most game bird skins for tying. Quail is one of my favorites for wet hackle flies.
Just recently skinned a Trogopan pheasant. I used Ronn’s directions and it worked pretty good. Along with the Borax I mixed in some Kosher salt to draw out more moisture and help cure the skin better. Let it set about 2 weeks then washed it, dried it with a blow dryer and set it skin down on some paper towels. Came out great.
Guys, thanks for all of your help.