Cleaning your feathers

[troutchaser30]

Hello everyone.

A friend of mine recently bagged a ruffed grouse and gave me the feathers to tie with. While I'd like to experiement with some traditional soft hackles for brook trout, the germophobe in me first wants to make sure the feathers are sanitary.

Any suggestions on how to clean feathers without destroying them?

Thanks.

[Hugh]

I soak them overnite in warm water and dishwashing liquid,rinse well in cold water. Hugh

[troutchaser30]

Thanks, Hugh. That seems easy enough.

[wildbrookies]

I leave`em natural, mostly from being lazy, but, I`m thinking hopefully,the trout like the natural scent on the feathers, between the blood and some guts,it might entice a trout to my fly, cause ,I could use all the help I can get , besides, would`nt they smell the nice fresh smell of soap on those feathers

Wb

actually ,its probably a great idea to clean freshly taken game somehow, I borax skins given to me from my hunter friends....20 mule Borax will kill anything....and works great in preservation...and curing

[troutchaser30]

now that you mention it wild, they have a earthy wormlike smell to them...the fishies might like that!

[Shaq]

soak'em in your mouth then tie with 'em hahaha

just keep them quarantined for two weeks in a plasttic bag, when they dry out and no bugs appear, they should be good.

Good luck

[JJB]

I just joined this forum, but I can't help but but in. If they are still on skin the borax will do just fine. Cover the whole skin and let sit for acouple of weeks. If they are loose wash in just about any mild detergent rinse well and dry in a pillow case and dry in a drier at low heat and then you will be fine. As with all natural materials it should be stored with a couple of moth balls/flakes. Just to keep the nonauqeous buggys away. I tied commercialy for a couple of years and to keep costs down I traded with sports for raw materials.