I Bagged A Partridge!

Mr. Partridge Comes To Stay
First Look At Some Partridge Goodness

Installment #102

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I have a confession - I’ve been hoarding cash cards for a few seasons, the kind you get for Xmas, birthdays, and so on.
I don't rush to the computer to spend them as soon as they are mine…. No, I give thanks for my good fortune, I put them in a safe place - and I promptly forget about them.

Which begs the question:

“Is it hoarding if you lose track and forget you have them?”

Anyway, last weekend, I cashed out a couple of the cards, and got myself a partridge pelt with the proceeds. 
If you don’t know what that is, the “pelt” is the entire skin from an animal; in this case it’s from a bird, with all the feathers attached.

For a lot of you reading this, that announcement will be a snoozer.... you’ll say something like, ”Big deal; partridge is pretty common stuff.”

Well, that’s true - the partridge feather as a fly tying material is hardly a rarity. 

But I’ve put off this purchase for some time, because good pelts are a bit on the pricey side - this one was $40.00USD.

For most of my fly tying "career," I've had it in my head that tying flies should be done at low cost.
It's hooks and feathers, after all, and maybe a little fur brushed from the cat. 

If you want to get fancy, some stuffing pulled from a plush toy gets worked in, or a few beads are added.

But it should’t cost much money.

And, contrary to popular belief, being on the internet with a Facebook page, and a blog, well,...these aren't an automatic path to wealth and fame.
I know, it looks that way.
But let me assure you, such is not the case.

So, I’ve always viewed a whole partridge skin as a nice-to-have item,... and then I get by with little packs of partridge feathers picked up here and there.

At the same time, it’s a truism in the fly tying world that having a full pelt, of any kind, is the best way to go. You get more usable feathers, you get a variety of feather sizes, and it’s just pretty awesome to have the thing.
That last bit doesn’t tie any flies, but it counts for something.

So I took the plunge.
Here is what I got:

This particular skin is also reckoned as a high grade piece, from a reputable name - Hareline. 
They’re calling it “Grade 1” - not that I know what that really means, but it sounds pretty good.

I did pay retail for it, but it’s as good as they come... and I've since been told I could have paid more.
I'm calling it a win.

First Impressions

- It has about a zillion feathers on it.
Right off, I can see many different types of flies are possible: soft hackle flies , nymphs, bass flies,.... really, a lot of flies.

Anything from about size 6-18 can come from this thing.

I don't know if I will ever use all the feathers, particularly the little teensy ones. I don't tie many micro flies, so those little plumes could be around for a while.
I'm also pretty sure most fly tyers don't end up using every last feather on a skin, anyhow.
But, there really are a lot of feathers on this thing, making it one of those, "good bang for your buck" items people always talk about. 

- It’s smaller than I expected
I don't know where you live, but I live in South Carolina.
Partridges might be thick as fleas on a hound dog in your part of the world, but here in the Palmetto State, well...there aren’t any partridges to look at. 

As in NONE. 

It seems Mr. Partridge was introduced into North America, from Europe. There are 15 genera of partridges in the world, comprising nearly 50 species. Two of these, the chukkar and the gray partridge have established populations in North America, particularly in the Intermountain West and Great Plains. 

Which is to say they are not found down here in Dixie. 

Doves, yes.

Partridges, no.

So, considering the geography of the matter, it’s not like I could compare them for size, even if I wanted to.

NOTE: In Facebook fly tying groups, bird-skin chats always turn up folks saying something like, "Go to your hunting friends and get 'em for free, don't pay for 'em...." well, until I move to Minnesota or Nebraska, that isn’t much in the way of helpful advice, either.

- The wings are attached
I dunno, I guess that's a benefit? Not really sure, yet. 

To be clear, I'm uncertain just what flies you can tie with partridge wing feathers, but, hey - I got 'em when I think of something!

- It’s smelly
This partridge pelt has that peculiar rancid odor you get from untanned, oily, animal skin-things. I don’t mind it so much; if that bothered me I wouldn't be much of a fly tyer.
But there is a pronounced, piquant scent that lingers around the skin.... and on your fingers after handling it.
The dog likes it, I can tell you that much.

- It’s macabre
Holding it in your hand, feathers on one side and gnarly bare skin on the other, you realize there was once a living bird inside this thing,... and that it probably wasn't too keen on giving up its skin.

In an oddly perverse way, that's part of the allure.
Plus, it gives me one of the few opportunities I get to use the word, "macabre."

As you might imagine, though, my wife, Lori, was not favorably impressed with my smelly, dead-bird skin. 

She sneered
She held her nose
She demanded it be taken away.
She had the same reaction to me waving a hares mask under her nose, by the way.
She is not a fly tyer, obviously.

But to a fly tyer, this is Nirvana.

So, there you go, those are the first impressions I get from my first ever partridge skin.

In my esteem, there is a Quartet Of Skins that all fly tyers want to have:

- Partridge
- Pheasant
- Premium dry hackle cape 

.....and the epitome of bird skins for fly tying....

- Jungle Cock

I have managed to accumulate a few pheasant skins, and I rustled up a couple of premium hackle capes a while back.

Now, I have the third leg of the Skin Quartet - a partridge. 

All that remains is to wrangle a jungle cock cape, somehow, before my eyes get too bad to tie flies.
Then I’ll be a full-fledged member of The Skin Quartet Club.

Thanks for reading and,
Tight Lines!

David

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