Fly tiers understand the emu as nature’s feather treasure chest, abundant with hackle-like plumes. The finest, darkest hackles grace its head and neck. Emus, towering up to six feet, offer a remarkable quantity of feathers ideal for crafting flies. (Ben Romans photo)
January 17, 2025 By Bob Quigley
This article originally appeared in the July 2005 issue of Fly Fisherman.
The question “Does Emu Fly?” is a common one, and the simple answer is no. Emus, ancient birds roaming our planet since the dinosaur era, approximately 80 million years ago, are flightless wonders native to Australia. They belong to the Ratite family, a group that also includes ostriches, rheas, kiwis, and cassowaries. Historically, emus populated New Zealand, Tasmania, and Kangaroo Island, but overhunting and habitat changes led to their near extinction in these regions. Today, they thrive in Australia and are commercially farmed worldwide, primarily for their valuable hide, meat, and oil. However, their feathers, a byproduct of these industries, have remained largely untapped by fly tiers – until now.
My own journey with emu feathers began unexpectedly. As a curious 12-year-old browsing through a Herters catalog, I stumbled upon a suggestion to use emu feathers for tying Woolly Worms. Intrigued, I spent a modest 20 cents to add a packet of dyed yellow emu feathers to my usual order of rooster saddles and chenille. Upon receiving them, I eagerly tied a few yellow emu Woolly Worms, but soon reverted to traditional rooster saddle hackles, unaware of the treasure I possessed. That original pack of emu feathers remains in my fly tying kit to this day, a testament to their enduring quality.
Years later, as a college sophomore, a summer job at Soco Gardens, a reptile zoo near Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina, rekindled my interest. This job afforded me precious days off to explore the Eastern trout rivers. Serendipitously, a trout stream meandered along the zoo’s boundary, adjacent to an aviary housing protected and exotic birds, including three majestic adult emus. My daily tasks included cleaning enclosures and collecting discarded feathers – a fly tier’s dream come true.
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As I gathered these emu feathers, I noticed a striking similarity between their barb structure and the tails and appendages of mayfly nymphs I was studying for my fly patterns. A creative spark ignited. I began tying numerous nymphs using these unique feathers. The flies proved remarkably effective, and the feathers endured demanding fishing conditions. From then on, I became a dedicated collector, sorter, and hoarder of these incredible feathers.
Emu Feather Characteristics and Fly Tying Applications
Emus, standing tall at up to six feet, are generously covered in hackle-like feathers from head to toe, creating a distinctive, mop-like silhouette. Even their vestigial wings, barely a tenth of their body length, are cloaked in these hackle feathers. Interestingly, there’s no discernible difference in feather structure between male and female emus. Emu chicks sport a mottled down with spotted heads, transitioning to adult feathers that emerge in brown tones, gradually lightening to gray and tan with dark tips upon sun exposure and nearing molt.
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For fly tiers, envision the emu as a colossal rooster, adorned with a diverse array of hackle-type feathers. These hackles vary in size and color depending on their origin on the bird’s body. The smallest, darkest hackles are found on the head and neck, typically ranging from dark brown to black and measuring 1 to 3 inches in length. Moving down to the upper back, the feathers become longer and more slender, lighter in color, and can reach up to 8 inches.
The sides, rump, and tail areas yield the longest saddle-type hackles, extending up to an impressive 2 feet. These feathers present a diverse palette of gray, tan, black, and brown hues.
Emu hackle feathers are characterized by a supple, flat shaft or quill. The quill base features widely spaced barbs that are light in color and possess a fuzzy, hair-like texture. Towards the tip, the barbs transition to a more slender, stiffer, and sleeker appearance. Before incorporating emu hackle into a fly, it’s essential to test the barb stiffness, similar to evaluating rooster feathers. Opt for stiff, wire-like barbs for dry flies and softer, more flexible barbs for wet flies.
The flexible, flat quill of emu hackle simplifies the process of wrapping traditional dry flies. However, the flat quill can sometimes pin down the barbs beneath it on each forward wrap. To counter this, gently brush the barbs backward with your fingertips before making the next wrap. This technique also proves helpful when tying off the hackle or finishing the fly, ensuring the barbs remain properly positioned.
Emu hackles excel in creating visually striking Hackle Stacker flies. The barbs’ spiky nature imparts a unique, buggy texture and silhouette to the fly. Due to the widely spaced barbs of emu feathers, it’s recommended to hackle the stacker loop with two or three hackles simultaneously. This ensures sufficient barb density within the limited space, providing adequate flotation and creating the desired wing silhouette. Stacking multiple colored hackle feathers can produce nuanced color variations that have proven incredibly effective in deceiving selective feeding trout.
Recommended Fly Patterns Using Emu Feathers
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Like all quality hackle feathers, emu feathers boast a myriad of applications in fly tying. Here are a few patterns where I frequently utilize them. The stripped quill, being flat, long, pliable, and strong, creates naturally segmented and durable bodies for both dry flies and nymphs. The diverse barbs from emu hackles are excellent for crafting various tail and wing styles on dry flies and nymphs. Hackle tips serve as ideal wings for dry flies, nymphs, and soft hackles. Their minnow-like shape and soft, flexible stem impart a lifelike swimming motion and silhouette to streamer patterns. Truly, the creative possibilities with emu feathers are virtually limitless.
The following fly patterns have consistently proven successful and are intended to spark your creativity and encourage you to explore the potential of this often-overlooked yet remarkable material.
Fly Tying Recipes with Emu Feathers
Recipe: Emu PMD Cripple H.B.
Emu PMD Cripple H.B. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #16 Tiemco 2487.
- THREAD: Light cahill 8/0 Uni-Thread.
- TAIL: Olive Sparkle Yarn or Z-Lon.
- RIB: Fine copper wire.
- BODY: Olive marabou fibers.
- THORAX: Yellow Superfine Dubbing.
- WING: Dun emu saddle hackle barbs dyed purple mixed with two strands of light purple Krystal Flash.
- HACKLE: Light emu hackle.
Recipe: Emu Hexagenia Cripple
Emu Hexagenia Cripple. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #6 Tiemco 200R.
- THREAD: Fluorescent chartreuse 140-denier Ultra Thread.
- TAIL: Three natural gray fuzzy emu barbs. Spot the barb tips with a black Sharpie marker.
- BODY: Tying thread.
- RIB: Thin yellow yarn or yellow floss.
- GILLS: Natural soft barb emu hackle.
- THORAX: Yellow 2mm closed-cell foam cut into a small strip and wrapped. Spot bottom with a brown Sharpie marker.
- WING: Stacked emu barbs from a large emu saddle hackle, mixed with three strands of olive Midge Krystal Flash and two strands of regular purple Krystal Flash.
- HACKLE: Dyed yellow emu saddle hackle.
Recipe: Emu Callibaetis Nymph
Emu Callibaetis Nymph. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #14 Tiemco 3761.
- BEAD: Gold.
- THREAD: Gray 8/0 Uni-Thread.
- TAILS: Three gray fuzzy emu barbs, spot with black Sharpie marker. RIB: Fine gold wire.
- BACK: Hareline Embossed Pearl Flashback.
- BODY: Stripped emu saddle hackle.
- WINGCASE: Barbs from a dark mottled emu saddle hackle, Hareline Embossed Pearl Flashback.
- THORAX: Bronze glass bead, figure-eight wrap the top of the glass bead with bronze-dyed peacock her!. Peacock Ice Dubbing.
- LEGS: After pulling over the wingcase, tie three strands of the saddle barbs along the sides and clip off the rest. Trim the legs if they are too long.
Recipe: Emu Blond Humpy
Emu Blond Humpy. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #14 Dai-Riki 305.
- THREAD: Fluorescent chartreuse 140-denier Ultra Thread.
- TAIL: Blond emu saddle hackle barbs.
- BODY: The underbody is tying thread; the back is blond emu saddle hackle barbs.
- WING: The tips of the blond saddle hackle barbs used for the Humpy back.
- HACKLE: Two blond emu hackles.
Recipe: Emu Callibaetis H.B. Stacker
Emu Callibaetis H.B. Stacker. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #16 Tiemco 2487.
- THREAD: Gray 8/0 Uni-Thread.
- TAILS: Three gray fuzzy emu barbs, spot with black Sharpie marker.
- ABDOMEN: Stripped emu saddle hackle.
- BACK: Hareline Embossed Pearl Flashback coated with Rio Knot Sealer.
- RIB: Fine gold wire.
- THORAX: 1mm gray closed-cell foam cut into a small strip.
- HACKLE: Two natural emu barred hackles, stacked together and pulled over thorax for wing.
Recipe: Emu Stacker Green Drake
Emu Stacker Green Drake. (David J. Siegfried photos)
- HOOK: #10-12 Tiemco or Targus 100.
- THREAD: Yellow or fluorescent chartreuse 140-denier Ultra Thread.
- TAIL: Black moose mane hair fibers. BODY: Green or olive 2mm closed-cell foam.
- RIB: Tying thread.
- THORAX: Spun green or olive deer hair.
- HACKLE: One each of natural mottled, dyed chartreuse, and dyed purple emu hackles stacked and pulled over thorax for wing.
Bob Quigley is a fly designer and author. His latest fly-tying DVD is Tying Bob Quigley’s Signature Flies (Pegasus Pro ductions, 2004). He lives in Ashland, Oregon.
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