The fellow that throttled the peacock in Burger King’s parking lot should be a lesson to aspiring commercial fly tiers. The good news is that he was a beginner, the bad news is probably the fate that drove him to cracking publicly.
Many anglers decide to defray the cost of their next fly rod via tying flies, most forget the part about the mindless repetition that’s part of tying many hundreds of dozens of the same fly in at most a couple sizes.
You might’ve assumed there’d be groupies, free Hoffman saddles, and membership in the Hilton Posse, but to sustain that level of popularity, you’ll have to crank many thousands of Zug Bugs in size 18 and 20.
Yes, people actually use those sizes, and if you’re any good – you’ll get tagged with the bulk of their production.
So why was this fellow a beginner? He was astute enough to kick the tail feathers loose – but a grizzled veteran would have thanked everyone for finding the bird, rushed home and skinned it using his wife’s favorite fillet knife.
I agree…amature all the way. A real pro would have followed the bird home then ripped out the feathers and left him alive. Once you know where the bird lives it’s easy enough to come back whenever you need them.
That makes it a renewable resource, don’t you get a tax break on that?