I tie flies myself, thanks for this video very informative 👍
@robbieb20Күн бұрын
@@CiaranBradley-d3t thank you
@oliveroregan164118 күн бұрын
Nice one.
@robbieb2017 күн бұрын
Thank you! Cheers!
@rickkirby5554Ай бұрын
Really nice vise. I'm loking for a new vise but Its a little out of my price range right now. I always liked the jaw design of your old vise. Is it a Stonfo? I have been looking at the Stonfo Kaiman. How did your old vise hold up? Did it develop any nicks or grooves? Thats the problem I have with any vise I've owned. They all develop a groove where most of the hooks sit. Good Luck! Thanks for sharing!
@robbieb20Ай бұрын
@@rickkirby5554 yeah my old vise is a Stonfo kaiman. It’s a strong vise, it never developed groves from holding the hooks. The kaiman is a good all round vise. The only thing that I found with it was that the jaws are very big and it’s difficult to tie size 22 flies
@rickkirby5554Ай бұрын
@@robbieb20 Thanks for the reply and the info. I no longer tie anything smaller than 18s( can no longer see them on the water ) so it might serve me well. BTW... your CDC emerger and CDC sedge were my go-to flies this summer so have to tie a box full this winter. Keep up the great work. Thanks!
@robbieb20Ай бұрын
@ I’m delighted to hear that they both work well for you, thanks for your positive feedback. I really appreciate it
@simonlenihan5779Ай бұрын
Beautiful vise, enjoy
@robbieb20Ай бұрын
Thank you kindly
@fergalkellett66522 ай бұрын
Great video, I prepared two phaesant after watching this evening. Borax on, hopefully the cape turns out right.
@AhmetCakr-BURSOF2 ай бұрын
Great presentation. My English may be a little deficient or I may have missed it. So did you do anything to keep these feathers away from bacteria? How did you make it inorganic. regards.
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
@@AhmetCakr-BURSOF yes, all feathers that I take from wild birds must be treated as they do contain mites that eat feathers. Follow my video on bug proofing or treating feathers for fly tying
@russellogden80712 ай бұрын
Do you ever put a hot spot behind yhe bead ?
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
@@russellogden8071 to be honest I have never on this type of hares ear. I find it’s very effective as it is. I have another variant bit different from in the video that I do put up reflective thread behind the bead
@dennisdawe21772 ай бұрын
I just found your channel. Very informative but holly cow man nothing like working in a closet
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
I am unfamiliar with the feathers of a plover as I haven’t come across on in Ireland. If it’s soft feathers you are looking for then hen pheasant is good. The feathers on a hen pheasant are really soft
@paulnevins59362 ай бұрын
Excellent video; would hen pheasant be a good plover substitute?
@riflemang1762 ай бұрын
Reallly useful thank you.
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
@@riflemang176 thank you
@riflemang1762 ай бұрын
@robbieb20 I was given two birds yesterday, a beautiful cock and hen bird. I've currently got them hanging. Two questions please, will it be easier to feather them after they've hung for a week or so and the feathering of the hen bird the same as the cock bird, just different colours etc? Thanks again. Neil
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
@@riflemang176 yes plucking the feathers from the birds will be easier after they have been hanging for a few days. The hen has lots of good feathers, obviously not as colourful as the cock but yes similar to a cock the hen feathers can be gathered. The most important feathers on a hen are the primary wing quills
@michaelgieringer32092 ай бұрын
Great video on how to get duck feathers -- i like to skin my fowl and use Borax to dry it keeping the bird skin whole
@robbieb202 ай бұрын
@@michaelgieringer3209 thank you
@Madmicksoutdooractivities2 ай бұрын
Great stuff I've just done 2 mallards tonight
@charlieberggren64763 ай бұрын
Awesome ! Are you able to splay the feathers about after the borax step is finished and it's dry?
@robbieb203 ай бұрын
@@charlieberggren6476 yes, the feathers can be splayed, follow the steps in the video, but to splay the feathers you need to pin the wing to a board so the the splayed feathers are held in position, apply the borax and leave to dry, the wings will dry and set splayed
@martincorcoran82633 ай бұрын
Well done
@mazman83433 ай бұрын
Hi friend class video. Quick question I skin my first pheasant today I put it in Borax should I have washed and dried it first
@robbieb203 ай бұрын
@@mazman8343 hi, yes, it’s always good to wash the skin and feathers after skinning. Reason being the feathers can pick up blood during the skinning process. If you have only skinned the bird today then you can still wash the skin, just remove the borax and wash in warm soapy water, for 10 minutes, dry with a hair dryer. Once thoroughly dry you can then put the borax back on the skin and feathers
@kats-essas5 ай бұрын
My dad picked me up a turkey wing on the side of the road, and I plan on doing this with salt instead of borax. Very straightforward tutorial! Amazing!
@robbieb203 ай бұрын
Salt will work also. Salt is excellent for bug proofing
@gerbal1105 ай бұрын
Hi I was given wing which was salted. I was told just to remove the salt from them. It was suggested that i you tube it to see how i remove the salt. Can i just wash off the salt and dry the feathers gently with a hair dryer. Would appreciate your opinion. Many thanks. Gerry
@robbieb205 ай бұрын
@@gerbal110 you can rinse it but make sure to thoroughly dry it
@gerbal1105 ай бұрын
I did just that and it looks great. Thank you for the advice. Much appreciated.
@rickkirby55547 ай бұрын
This fly saved the day for me today! I only caught 2 brown trout but both were on this fly. I was fishing a local creek here in Pennsylvania and didnt see any hatches all day. I noticed a few splashy rises every now and again so I figured they were eating emergers or escaping nymphs. I tried all of the usual patterns local to this creek and nothing was working. I tied a few of these CDC emergers after finding your channel last week . Well I tied one on in size 16 and it worked great. I caught 2 and missed a few more . Then the water temp started to rise and the fish turned off so I let them be. I have also tied the Olive F fly and the CDC Sedge and cant wait to try them out as well. I really like how the CDC looks and moves on the water. Now that you have shown us how to harvest CDC from a duck, I may just have to harvest a duck this upcoming hunting season! Thanks for the videos. Tight lines!
@robbieb206 ай бұрын
@@rickkirby5554 thanks for the positive feedback. I am absolutely delighted to hear that the cdc emerger worked for you, I love to hear feedback on my flies. The olive f-fly is a serious little fly, it’s the only fly I mainly use. It represents the various stages of the BWO from emerging to adult. The beauty of this fly is that it imitates many other species, this is why it’s so effective. Tight lines
@martincorcoran82637 ай бұрын
Well done, keep them coming
@robbieb207 ай бұрын
Thank you
@Karel_N7 ай бұрын
Hello, first of all, let me thank your for this excellent video. Recently I bought wings of jackdaw and grouse sold by Veniard. I found that both birds horribly smelled. I didn't see any borax on the skin so I didn't know what chemical they had used and if it had been done properly. Can I ask you for a piece of advice how such a bird can be treated? I was thinking of washing the wings and use borax to let it dry. I just don't know if it is better to use detergent, washing powder or soap. Do you see this approach OK? Besides that, let me ask you about health risks of using unknown road kills. Does borax helps also to disinfect the feathers? Surely we do not use any glows when fly tying. Do you see any heath risk of using unknown roadkills for fly tying? Thank you very much.
@robbieb207 ай бұрын
Hi, that’s surprising to hear of from materials from veniards as their materials are good quality. There’s lots of different ways to preserve bird skins or animal skins. The two main methods are using borax similar to the way I and taxidermist do it, then there is the natural method where the wings are left in a dry place for months and left to dry naturally. Im not sure how veniards do it, I can only assume that veniards do it naturally and then treats them to bug proof them. Veniards treat their feathers so There would be no need to further treat them. Just store them correctly. If you find road kill, examine it. If the specimen is in good condition and is fresh then yes it can be preserved. There is always a health risk when handling birds / animals. Always wear latex gloves, birds can carry avain influenza or bird flu. It’s good practice to wear latex gloves for protection to prevent zoonosis. When preserving it’s always important to wash or soak the skin in hot near boiling water for a couple of minutes, this will aid in treating the feathers and killing any nasty bugs that may be on the feathers or skin. Borax does not disinfect the skins of feathers. Borax instead is used to dry and preserve the skin, it pulls the water or moisture out of the skin and will also kill any insects as it is a natural insecticide. It drys in to the skin and renders the skin toxic to insects that would usually feed on the feathers and skin
@Karel_N7 ай бұрын
@@robbieb20 Thank so much for the answer. The smell must come from some chemical because even the mole skin I bought from Veniard smell identically. If we treat the bird, does it minimize the risk of zoonosis? I have no idea how long bacteria and viruses can survive but the feathers are used for a long time. Surely, I would care about helthty risks when handling with a fresh animal but how about working with the feathers when tying flies? Will the feather be safe afterwards? Actually there is a similar problem with materials bought in a standard fly shop.
@robbieb207 ай бұрын
@@Karel_N feathers will be safe after treatment and preserving
@almagarcia67788 ай бұрын
Someone gave me a dry pheasant I would like to know how much are they worth?
@robbieb208 ай бұрын
Pheasant skins as cheap to buy, in Ireland they can be bought for between €10 and €20 a full skin
@achimswiss8 ай бұрын
are they for sale?
@robbieb208 ай бұрын
No sorry, I don’t sell fly tying materials
@BerryTara489 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. A hawk skillfully did most of the meat removing in the severed pigeon wing I found...amazing. Cheers.
@robbieb209 ай бұрын
Thank you for your positive comments
@robbieb203 ай бұрын
Thank you
@johnbrock75289 ай бұрын
Tyanks for this .A very nice quick and simple tie , which I'm sure works just as well as some of the fancier versions I have seen ,including deerhair underwing , fox squirrel thorax and all sorts of tinsel.
@robbieb209 ай бұрын
Thanks John, I find this fly super effective on rivers, it’s a personal favourite and my go to fly. Tie it in sizes from 16 down to 20, i have tied this fly for customers and they can’t seem to get enough of them. It imitates a wide range of different fly patterns including BWO.
@craigdebeer144410 ай бұрын
Thanks for that great video.
@robbieb2010 ай бұрын
Thank you for your positive feedback
@laceywhite679211 ай бұрын
This is awesome! How do you wash them and so on? I’m trying to use everything I harvest. But some things I can’t figure out
@robbieb2011 ай бұрын
Thanks, if I’m soaking the feathers to treat them I use boiling water, laundry powder detergent and 2 or 3 heaped dessert spoons of borax and let them soak for abot an hour or so. If I have a skin that I skinned out and want to wash it before preserving it, I get a bucket of hot water and add dish washing soap and I give the feathers or skin a soak for about 10 minutes moving the feathers around in the water to clean them, then dry with a hair dryer. Check out my videos on treating feathers
@laceywhite679211 ай бұрын
Yeah I subscribed so I don’t miss out. Seems I’m finally getting some answers. Always wondered about grouse wings and how to cut the hackle from chickens and so on.
@simonlenihan5779 Жыл бұрын
Great video
@craigdebeer1444 Жыл бұрын
How can I get one of those.???
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
You can buy them whole full preserved or if you know a hunter that can source them for you
@aidenvedder5051 Жыл бұрын
Excellent video
@robbieb207 ай бұрын
Thanks
@stevearnold6687 Жыл бұрын
I found a dead duck on the side of the motorway and took it home to take some feathers off. Unfortunately, I didn't discover your video until after my poor attempt! Thanks to you, I will be better prepared next time!
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Glad my video can help
@chelenthal Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@Tjk186 Жыл бұрын
Now I understand why quality CDC feathers are commercially expensive...thanks for sharing your harvesting/storage knowledge and experience...appreciate it
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Your very welcome
@hhhhhhhhh61 Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for sharing your vast knowledge.
@tomgensel4134 Жыл бұрын
The head sequence was out of frame .
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Check out my additional video specifically on skinning the head
@oldsmugglerflyfishing Жыл бұрын
Great tutorial
@richardgallagher647 Жыл бұрын
Hey Robbie great video on treating feathers. I have a question and think you may be able to help me. I have a large selection of fly tying materials. Unfortunately, carpet beetles got into our house. I was going to clean all my fly tying materials and was thinking of using your method. Would your treatment kill carpet beetles eggs? Would it affect the colour of materials and wash out some of the dye? Richie
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Hi Richie, I’m afraid this is not something I have ever experienced, sorry to hear all your materials have been infested. the treatment would leech out the colour of dyed feathers and fur if left soaking for too long, the key is to continuously check any dyed materials, I think you may need a more harder treatment, for carpet Beatles as this insect isn’t something that is commonly found on live wild animals or birds, they are always and introduced infestation. I would suggest a concentrated mix of borax and hot water ideally over 40, 45 degrees Celsius,and soak any feathers or fur, get a good can of insecticide like I have in the video, there are some good sprays for carpet Beatles. Periodically I spray all my materials and seal them away again. How do you store your materials, i store all my materials in zip lock bags. I ensure that when I am finished they get sealed away immediately. I never leave my materials out or exposed. And for good practice I never mix harvested feathers & fur with material I buy even though I do thoroughly treat every thing, I store them separately
@richardgallagher647 Жыл бұрын
@@robbieb20 Thank you Robbie. I will try treating a small batch of materials first and see how it goes. I will let you know. Richie
@maczinga545 Жыл бұрын
Hi there, just wanted to say I’ve been loving your videos. I’m finding them very informative and easy to follow. Please keep up the great work. Happy tying, Mac.
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for the positive feedback
@FlyTyer1948 Жыл бұрын
I can’t remember seeing flat wire in shops or catalogs here in the US. It certainly makes nice looking ribbing. Thank you for a nice post.
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching!
@russellogden80712 ай бұрын
Do you ever put a little hot spot collar say red thread behind the bead
@kimmiller2000 Жыл бұрын
Hello. I have watched part 1 and about to watch part 2 because it was so helpful. Did you gut the bird prior to freezing it? Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Hi Kim, no there’s no need to gut the bird. I freeze the bird whole and when it come time to work on the bird I will thaw it out and skin the bird carefully
@DarkoStjepic Жыл бұрын
Can I do the same with table salt if I don't have borax on hand?
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Yestable salt will work
@2lomp Жыл бұрын
Very helpful informative video 👍
@isabelgarcia9863 Жыл бұрын
thank you so much for sharing with us❤❤❤❤
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
Your very welcome
@Noah_Frost Жыл бұрын
I just did this with a dead black bird I found! So amazing, thank you so much!
@robbieb203 ай бұрын
Glad to hear, thank you for your positive comments
@hilton11000 Жыл бұрын
Very helpful
@joemolloy6349 Жыл бұрын
I love the wings would a green seals fur be good thanking you
@robbieb20 Жыл бұрын
You can change up this sedge pattern to suit yourself, any dubbing will work
@karlcooke7922 жыл бұрын
You said at start of first video that the bird had been previously frozen can same be done to a fresh bird or does freezing ease the process thanks great video very informative will defo be trying thank you for sharing ur knowledge
@robbieb202 жыл бұрын
You can start working on a fresh bird , I usually freeze the birds because it could be months by the time I get around to working on it.
@noahkim24912 жыл бұрын
Is salt a viable substitute for borax?
@robbieb202 жыл бұрын
Salt can be used yes, same as borax ensure the skin is covered thoroughly. If you can get some alum and mix with the salt, that makes a really good preservative
@cybergaming3872 жыл бұрын
It really helped me organize my feathers when I started pulling them even though they were from a widgeon.
@clementjohnson43912 жыл бұрын
A hunter friend gave me a number of ducks that have had the breast meat removed. The carcasses are somewhat dirty with blood etc. Should I wash the feathers before or after I remove them from the body?
@robbieb202 жыл бұрын
Wash the feathers after you remove them from the bird
@clementjohnson43912 жыл бұрын
Thank you for getting back to me so soon. I have found your videos very informative. I have 8 ducks to work on so I will be busy for awhile.