A lot of the hen saddle/back feathers I have are a bit too “sticky” for me to get the effects I’m looking for, especially as a sub for my dwindling supply of hen capes; really don’t want to buy any more and hate to let material on hand go to waste. Found some articles here about burning (chemically) goose shoulder to create a heron substitute, in lieu of shelling out $$ for blue eared pheasant, and thought I’d try it on some hen (please understand I’m using this on trout flies that I fish here in Montana, not for steelhead or salmon, so everything is scaled down).

Here’s results of the first effort using Marty’s process; could have left the grizzly saddle in a bit longer (easy enough to remedy)



Burned Crippler







hook - WFC Model 6 #10
thread - SemperFli 8/0 brown
tag - medium tinsel gold
rib - small wire gold
body - hare’s ear
hackle - Cree
1st shoulder - pheasant rump dyed orange
2nd shoulder - mottled hen back (burned)

Over-hackled the hen back but I just wanted to get an idea of the effect; shows promise, more to follow. Dyeing burnt white hen red or golden yellow could work as a replacement for increasingly scarce (and expensive) golden pheasant body feathers.

Regards,
Scott