A hero Shot of me with gobs of Olive Dun marabou

Dying feathers has been a bit of a Monkey on my back. Those who follow the blog regularly may recall a journey into disaster a few years back with some ostrich plumes dyed Blue.

These especially pissed me off because I had tied several dozen flies for a client with these bleeding feathers and had to recall the flies I tied and replace them.

I since have had some training with my good friend Geoff Pieroway and he was able to shed some light on the process. Even with all this newfound knowledge, dying is still time-consuming, a little nerve-wracking, can be messy and just an overall pain in the ass. I honestly would not recommend you do it if you are happy with the products you currently find in shops. Be very weary of Dollar store crap and make sure you test its colourfastness before going big on any patterns.

Superfly was a Canadian fly tying distributor based out of Edmonton. I'm not confident if they are still in business, but regardless they are no longer the reliable source that they once were for good quality natural materials. Superfly at one time had the best Marabou. I did have a few crap batches from them, but otherwise, it was of as good a quality as what you will see. In the end, feathers vary as they do come from animals. The quality was consistent with a high number of thin stemmed beauties and the dye jobs were primarily stable and didn't bleed. In particular, they had one shade of Olive, which is quite popular on the Bow River. "Olive Dun" is a muted or washed-out version almost leaning towards a Grey Olive. This colour is one of the more popular shades for my DynAAmite leeches, which I've tied for Fishtales in Calgary for over a decade.

My recipe might not be perfect but it works.

The Long and the short of it is that my Olive Dun supply had dried up. I've scrounged around and scratched up a few packs here and there, but have not been able to find it in an easily attainable, economical, or consistent supply. I had to take matters into my own hands. I have been forced to dye my own.

It’s hard to tell if it’s the right shade when wet. Its funny tho shouldn’t that be the time when we are most critical?? Is that not what the fish sees.

I started this project about a week ago. Once again, my good amigo Geoff helped out with a custom blend of dye (which he nailed). I didn't have all the ingredients he used during my apprenticeship but was able to make it happen with what he had gifted to me and what I could find in my little town of Terrace.

The small amount of tint left in the pot after setting the dye made me think I had the amount about right or close enough for me anyway

I wanted to come up with a standard recipe that I could replicate. Exact measurements, times and temperatures so I could take a bit of the stress out of dying for me. I understand the importance of good dying and the negative outcome of a job gone wrong. I did a 4oz sample which turned out great. All I could do from the amount of dye I had was another pound and a half (by my standardized recipe.) So that should last me a little bit anyway.

There it is. although not the best feather in the photo, It suits the purpose of a leech tail just fine.

I've checked it for colourfastness and I'm quite pleased with the product I have come up with. Glad to get that Monkey off my back.

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