Best waterfowl for fly tying

[Special T]

I'm an avid waterfowler, and my youngest loves to fish. Right now I'm thinking smaller jig heads but may want to get into fly fishing. What do I need to collect this next season.

[duckmen1]

Always a good idea to keep the flank feathers on your puddle ducks and some of the divers. There are some other feathers that can be of use too including primary and secondary wing feathers on ducks and geese.

[metlhead]

Great Blue Heron. So I'm told

[boneaddict]

Mallard

Cul de Canard

Heron will find you a jail cell lol, but yeah good stuff.

Goose biots

[Kola16]

When I worked at Cabela's, the fly guys asked for the mallard drake flank feathers like others have said. 1 drake made many flies. No clue what kinds of flies they were making.

[Huckleberry]

I let the boys keep anything with unique color. We add some of the various game animals as well. Having a flock of chickens means an endless supply of material. They get as much out of collecting as tying. Both probably more educational than actually using it. It provides a lot of education and talkative points. Grab a box of ziplock sandwich bags and let them have fun. I’m not sure you could go wrong

[boneaddict]

You mentioned waterfowler, but if you pop an occasional upland, pheasant and Huns have some great flytieing material on them as well.

[birdshooter1189]

I occasionaly tie flies. I've found the neck feathers on chickens to be one of my favorites for tying Adams flies or similar. Those long thin neck feathers work well for wrapping around the hook and fluffing out for the head portion of the fly.