How to prepare/work stubborn feathers/stems, like Mallard or Teal and many others. The better your materials, the better your flies will be. It's important to be able to prepare your materials to make them the best they can be.
This is what you need to get started.
Cut fuzzy part off, then with hand peel off a bit of the feather, the feather is now clean.
Heat up your tea kettle, when steam starts coming out, put your feather in it with a plyer or something holding stem so you do not burn yourself.
You will notice feathers spread out nicely, but more important the stems turn perfectly straight and will be much easier to use as they will turn straight when you are winding them on your fly.
I usually do a bunch at a time. They are now ready to be put away in a bag.
My purple modern spey pattern with a teal feather as front hackle.
and then Add to Home Screen.
