A Bunch of Feathers

I didn’t need to get quite so many feathers, with fifteen standard sets to choose from plus three deep sea rigs I’ll be spoilt for choice and as procrastination is the thief of time, so I once read, I’m going to have endless minutes of fishing lost due to head-scratching but that’s no reason not to be tempted by the lure of colour and flash, as I hope the mackerel, bass, scad, gar and launce will be when I do make my mind up which to use each time I reach for a set! Standard coloured feathers and tinsels have been my previous stock but leafing through the catalogue I decided to go for the Christmas tree syndrome of lots of colour and shine. I chose to standardise on 1/0 hooks, being small enough for mackerel but strong enough to hold bass and being useful when baited for other species as readily prepared flapper rigs. Most of the patterns have five hooks per trace, the coloured feathers (2/0 being the smallest available) having six, Sea Silver (again 2/0 being the smallest) having four with Multi Glitter (also 2/0) and the three deep sea traces three apiece it will be mostly down to the individual colours on the day. In the best traditions of Blue Peter here's some I had earlier... So what have we got here… 109-2-0 Multi Glitter. Barbed silver hooks, red whipping, red and green feathers with gold and silver tinsel strands on a 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 110-1-0 White Lightning. Barbed silver hooks, red whipping, purple nylon strands and silver glitter strands with a small luminous bead in from the eye on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1201-1-0 Hokki Pink Tail. 5 Barbed silver hooks, pearlescent whipping, pearlescent flash foil, purple nylon with silver glitter strands, red and gold tinsel and a pink translucent fish-head shape with pearl and red beads on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1253-1-0 Blue Flash. 5 Barbed silver hooks, red whipping, blue and white feathers with silver glitter strands on a 3-inch 0.6mm length to the body. 1270-5-1-0 Gold Spark. 5 Barbed gold hooks, black whipping, white and gold glitter strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the body. 1271-5-1-0 Red Gold Spark. 5 Gold hooks, black whipping, red glitter strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1272-5-1-0 Silver Flash. 5 Gold hooks, pink whipping, silver tinsel strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1273-5-1-0 Blue Silver Glitter. 5 Gold hooks, pink whipping, blue tinsel strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch length to the main body. 1274-5-1-0 Blue Silver Flash. 5 Gold hooks, red whipping, blue glitter strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1275-5-1-0 Silver Pink Spark. 5 Gold hooks, grey whipping, multi coloured glitter strands and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1279-1-0 Lumi Shrimp. 5 Silver hooks, clear whipping, silver glitter strands, a small fish head shape in luminous, pink and clear and a luminous bead on the 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1280-6-2-0 6 Multi Colour Feathers. Silver hooks, clear whipping, blue, yellow, red, green, white and orange feathers on a 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1284-2-0 Sea Silver. Silver hooks, red tubing, braided silver tinsel frayed on the edges on a 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 1401-1-0 Living Shrimp. 5 Silver hooks, clear whipping, pink rubber shrimps and silver glitter strands on a 3-inch 0.47/0.43mm length to the main body. 3310 Deep Sea D2. 3 Gunmetal hooks, black whipping, red and yellow feathers with blue and gold glitter strands on a 3-inch 0.6mm length to the main body. 3710 Deep Sea D6. 5 Silver hooks, red whipping, clear rubber strips and orange nylon strands and red glitter strands with luminous beads on the 3-inch 0.5mm length to the main body. 2910. Deep Sea Rig. 3 Black hooks, clear whipping, luminous 3-inch tubes with a clear torpedo head, green nylon strands, silver glitter strands and luminous beads either side of a yellow flasher blade on a 3-inch 0.5mm length to the main body. Now I suppose I’d better get out and use them…watch this space.