Sat down to tie some Hendrickson emerges using some nice reddish brown biots. Wrong. The brown and black biots aren't what they seem. Neither are the red quill bodies. They all need a swipe with a pen. I'm old but I swear I remember getting biots and quills that were the actual color advertised. The biots are brown on the side but white on the flat. Any one recommend a source for biots and quills that are actually the color advertised?.........for next year that is......if I live that long.

Turkey biots or goose? I am guessing turkey. I stocked up on Whiting biots when they announced they weren't going to sell them anymore. I never ran into your problem. I have also used wapsi and fly shop brands without issues. I wonder if you got a bad dye job. I know there is a transparency on the outside edges of the biots but not white. I only tie biot or quill dries. I know on my quill bodies there is always a white strip going through the quill. It is from stripping the barbs off. I soaked, naired,bleached and used conditioners. There is always a white strip where the barbs came off. In the past i have used the pre packaged quills and remember seeing a light strip going through. Can you post a pic of your issues? It may be easier to diagnose.

Dyed biots often seem darker on the feather to me, but I have never seen them white in the center. It sounds like you got a bad lot. I buy them from whatever source the shop has at the time, so I'm not really loyal to a particular brand. I do open the bag and look at the individual biots before I buy, because that is the color that you will actually be buying. For mail order, I have gotten them from J Stockard and Fly Fishermans Pardise and I don't think I have been dissapointed. I remeber one pack that was supposed to be sulfur, and looked shockingly orange in the pack, but the individual biots were the right color.