Chuck, Although the term 'biot' in not originally correct, in flytying it has been adopted to mean the tough, leading-edge barbs from the flight feathers of goose, duck, turkeys, and other large, legal flighted birds. Most common are goose biots. These are tough and durable, and change shape(contour) and length continually down the length of the feather. There are many uses such as antennae, legs, tails, and wrapped abdomens, based on the bird, the shape, and the length. These barbs have no velcro effect (like the barbs on the back sides of the wings) but are stacked one on top of the other and laid down flat. They stay in place because of stiffness and there is a slight concaveness down the length, lessening towards the tip. The lead edge flight feather (#1) has the best and toughest barbs, for obvious reasons. Then they reduce in quality (as biots) as you move back through the flight feathers.
There are no two identical feathers on wild birds, just two mirror image matches from left to right. Size, shape, color, configuration- all change constantly down the length of the bird and out on to the wings. Every section of every feather has qualities that make it suitable for specific flies. If you have more specific questions on feathers, just ask. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chuck Alexander" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 11:22 PM Subject: Fw: [VFB] Feather ???? > > > > Peter: Thanks for the tips... So the Biot is a strip of feathers that comes > off the main quill, but remain together if I understand right????Then I'd > wrap them in a spiral down the hook shank for the body??? I know which side > you are talking about, cause thay (and I guess about any feather like the > wing feathers) have a long and a short side... Is there a site I can go to, > to see one of these??? You're right.. it sounds easier to see than to > understand in text... Kinda like readign these books I have on tying flies, > vs watchingthe DVD I have..but if I follow you right, the finished fly will > have a body kinda like the furry caterpillers you sometimes see??? But will > be spiraled down the body (ie hook shank)?? Or am I totally wrong in my > understanding???? Sound like it would be great for bluegills... I hope I'm > understanding you right??? Thanks again, Chuck > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > > From: "Peter Gramp" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > To: <[email protected]> > > > Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 9:27 PM > > > Subject: Re: [VFB] Feather ???? > > > > > > > > > Hey, Chuck- > > > I'm not sure if this will help or not, but I use canadian goose > > > biots (the "thicker" part of the wing feather that is super-stiff if > > > you try to fan the fibers out from the stem) all of the time for biot- > > > bodies. These fibers are from the "not- wide side" of the feather, > > > and when peeled from the feather's quill / stem, have an elongated > > > triangle taper to their appearance. I tie them in by the point and > > > then wrap the feather biot up the hook shank to give a segmented look > > > to the body. I can send some samples if you wish, so you can see what > > > I mean. > > > Also, you can get fancy, as the biot has a notch at the base of the > > > triangle taper... where you stripped it from the feather's quill. > > > Well, if you wrap the triangle fiber piece (called a biot) with the > > > notch on one side versus the other, you can make a raised fuzzy > > > divider of the segmentation, or you can just cover over it and have > > > darker edging but no raised fuzzy edge. Again, it's easier to show it > > > than it is to explain it... if this doesn't make sense, feel free to > > > ask me about it. :) I love biot bodies for my dry spinners, and they > > > work well for nymph bodies, also, though I always add legs on these > > > for nymphs. > > > Anyhow, that should be a start for ideas. OH! before using ANY > > > road-kill / molted feathers from the park, etc... wash them in normal > > > dish soap. Usually this removes most possible "bugs"(though there are > > > numerous better ways to get rid of stuff, like freezing / microwaving, > > > etc), but at a very least, it cleans them up. Besides that, when > > > rinsed of the soap and air- dried, the feathers often look better than > > > they did when you started with them. > > > Just my 2 cents worth of advice... Good luck and tight lines, > > > Pete Gramp > > > >
