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3. Partridge Under-Feathers

Wondering if someone could help me with a pattern I am trying to replicate. I went to a fly tying demo at my local trout unlimited, took a lot of notes, and have been able to replicate all but one as it calls for tying in partridge under-feathers towards the eye, which I have never done before. Basically, the fly is tied on a scud hook with green thread, a few strands of a mallard feather for a tail, and then I wrote "tie in partridge secondary feathers towards eye" and have no idea what I had been intending... any ideas? I tried tying in the secondary feathers like a typical hackle wing, but the shaft of the feather is too thick and bulky. Would greatly appreciate your help if you have any experience with using these feathers.
Regards,
Chris

Well, your notes could mean a number of things. If this was caddis pupal pattern, sections of the secondary flight feather on the wing could have been tied in as under developed wings like these:



It is also possible the tier meant secondary under-coverts from the wing tied as hackle rather than wings. Under coverts were often used on soft-hackle wets as a hackle.

I'd suggest next time do a little sketch of the fly.

Can you get in touch with the tier?

Mark

Thanks, Mark. I was able to make contact with the tier yesterday and was able to get some help, but still trying to picture how it will look. I'll try out some possibilities tonight. The tier confirmed that it is an olive soft hackle emerger where he ties on the secondary feather about 2 eye-lengths from the eye, wraps it once or twice and then whip finishes. Simple as that. I'll let you know how it goes.