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[lophat]

Hi all, 

Just recently found some flies my late father-in-law had passed on to me. Can the hackles be reshaped with steam? They’d been stored in a bag for quite some time. I’m sure these are close to the 40+ years old. Or maybe a collector of old fishing gear would be more interested? Open to suggestions.

Thanks!

https://flic.kr/p/2mcvabz

[milo]

Most of those flies are for very specific (dry fly) applications. Since they are so old, I doubt they'll hold up well once removed from the package.

That said, since they are all in their original packaging (some going back to the 1950's), they might be worth something to a vintage tackle collector.
I suggest you put them up for sale on eBay or Etsy.

[RalphH]

they are mostly wet flies. I recall seeing flies packaged like that in the mid 60s to the early 70s. They look in very good shape. The hackle can be refreshed with steam: https://deneki.com/2018/01/steam-your-flies-back-to-life/

keep them in their original packaging & conditioning to sell as collector's items. They will have some value.

[lophat]

Thanks guys, very much appreciated! I’ll have a look at some of these collector sites and see if they garner any interest!