Well it happened. I wished my good fortune and the little bugger got the raw end of the deal. Their winter fur has arrived and so did the speeding car that took one of the local fox squirrels out. I have been talking to my wife about how I wanted a squirrel from the local herd. So I left the house to run an errand and when I returned there she was right in front of my drive way. I surely didnt want her to go to waste and skinning a squirrel isnt alot of work. Its almost like I ordered the hit, perfect!
Im not much for people speeding down my neighborhood street but I tolerated it this time. I cant shoot them within city limits (squirrels not neighborhood speeders) so this was obviously the way to go. I actually deboned the tail and skinned her from the front shoulders back. It turned out really nice, for me that is. I have enough squirrel hair for nymphs and the like for awhile. Just a funny story and thought I would share.
Same here, FIREMAN, only difference is mine is a 5 point whitetail buck. It was hit and killed yesterday not 2 tenths of a mile from my house out in the country. So I just happened to have a nice big Cold Steel brand razor sharp Kukri in the truck and gripping the tail-SWISH! - I have a prize. I took the large fluffy tail back home and once I got the skin peeled back a little was able to remove the tail meat and bones in a steady strong tug. My dog, Suki, got some fresh meat and I turned the tail back right side out and filled it with Borax and baby powdered the fur a tiny bit and hung it in my closet to dry. (Gotta get it to the out back shed before we go off to the in-laws for the holiday though.) This makes three whitetails and two foxtails just this fall. Plenty of fur for clousers and hairbugs! Nothing wrong with FREE, IMHO.
I suspect you’s guys already know, but if not, it pays to be very, VERY careful with “free roadkill”. It can be (is usually) the culprit guilty of introducing bugs into your materials stash. Once that happens it is sooooo hard to rid yourself of’em permanently. It pays to keep roadkill well isolated, maybe in airtight containers or in the freezer.
Contaminated materials can even transfer bugs to your fly boxes…saw that in a store once.
…lee s.
lee s.-- VERY good advice! yep, I know what you mean. First thing I did was check the deer tail for lice and fleas. This particular deer was only a few hours - that afternon- dead and the foxes were shot by me at the chicken coop and also carefully checked for bugs and only handled with gloves and rope for the first 24 hours to ensure that any possible rabies would be dead after that.
Had that happen just once with some turkey marabou from my own birds- they had bird lice galore but were isolated to only the zip lock that I put the marabou in to start with. Got 'em bug free quick and keep an eye out always as FREE supplies sometimes do come with a hitch.
Once when butchering my turkeys I found out the hard way that they had lice…man…talk about heebie jeebies and these tiny invisible crritters in my hair, and on my neck and arms----yeow! I ran straight in for the hottest, soapiest, scrubbinest shower ever! Had just read Michael Crichton’s book -PREY-all about predatorial nanobots.
I agree about the bugs. I am very thorough about adding ENOZ crystals to my new additions. Everything will go into a ziplock bag along with the crystals and I will keep them there for about a week. I am so far behind in dubugging feathers and fur that its stacking up in my cabinet. I have about 4 different types of duck feathers to treat before I can tie with them.
Oh ya Ive seen those patterns before the first would probably make a good steelhead pattern in some different dubbed colored bodies.
Still waiting for my feather from a buddy to come. They have been in his freezer now for a year. I am sure glad his wife does not mind. Will that year in the freezer kill the little critters when I do get them or should I still treat them when they finally do arrive.
Yep tis the season to replenish the stocks of squirrel and rabbit furs…I gotta get my drivers licence switched back to PA this saturday…not paying for an outta state Hunting licence…as I did earlier this year for a fishing licence…Hopeing to luck out and get a good belly strip from a whitetail…Hate buying those tiny blood stained things they sell in shops…We also have a good population of Fox,Grey,Red/Pine and the occasional Natural Black Squirrel…If you’d like I’ll Keep you in mind and if I’m lucky enough to get a few extras…Would you be interested Fireman…? Cottontails to for that matter…good second season hides are very dark and rich in color…I love them for my crayfish patterns…the secret to em actually…
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
Everyone wants to excel in this sport but at the same time we let traditionalists place restrictions on our tactics, methods, and ideas. I always assumed that fly fishing was a sport that allowed imagination, creation, adaptation, investigation, dedication, education, revelation? : Fox Statler, On Spinners (Not the dainty Dry Fly kind) “Spinner’d Minner Fly”
I would be really interested. I always manage to get my share of duck feathers, and I have a new source for turkey feathers. I just gave a bunch away not too long ago to some guys here because I couldnt use them all. But yes please keep me in mind. I know a taxidermist who is just starting so I could ask for some deer hair. I also have a buddy that processes deer I will ask him too. Email me and we can work out some details.
Thanks,
Seege
[This message has been edited by FIREMAN (edited 24 November 2005).]
When Bob Clouser was in town a couple months back he tied a few of his fox squirrel “Clousers”. White deer tail on top,gold sparkle and squirrel on the bottom. He said you have to stack the squirrel a little at a time because it is slicker than deer