Emu feathers deserve a special place in fly tying world. These feathers are not so popular between tiers probably because is not easy to find them. Some shops stock them and a pack with these feathers should be in all fly tying kits because Emu feathers has an interesting structure that suits for fly tying:
- are versatile ( can be used for nymphs and streamers )
- easy to work with
- long and elastic stem
- dense barbs with almost the same length from base to the tip of feather
- barbs soft and fluffy at the base
- medium soft barbs at the middle of the feather
- barbs from top with elastic and wax aspect
For nymphs you can create:
- nice legs for freshwater flies like stone flies and scud flies
- for saltwater shrimps you can create very interesting legs or antennae
- can be created gills for big mayflies or stoneflies nymphs
For streamers you can make:
- tails for big flies like those used for saltwater fishing of freshwater fishing ( pike for example )
- pulse fantastic well in water
- resistant at fish teeth
- perfect for making side for streamers also
- can be palmered to create interesting bodies for streamers
- can be palmered to create
The photos bellow gives you an idea about them:
Emu feather:
The base view of Emu feather is very fluffy:
The middle part of Emu feather is well balanced with not so dense barbs:
The tip part of Emu feather has barbs very shinny like quills as you can see:
And a photo with a gammarus tied with the tip part of Emu feather:
For these reason we consider an interesting material that should be tried by any tier who like to create new models of flies and love this beautiful hobby – fly tying. Soon we will add a few photos with streamers tied with these feathers.
