Cape or Saddle?

[trouterguy 0]

I'd like to get some hackle. Do I get a cape or Saddle and what colours to start with?

[bwo3 0]

well if you are only going to tie a few sizes mainly 12-16 then get a saddle, but if you want to tie sizes 10-24 then get the cape. i personally like the cape but thats just me but for color i would get a grizzly and a blue dun or ginger . check out conranch they are nice people and the hackle is great a grade 3 is a very nice cape

[rockworm 0]

Whether you get a cape or a saddle depends mainly on the size range of the flies you hope to tye. A good genetic cape will have hackles suitable for hooks ranging from, say, #4 to #24. A saddle generally has a narrow range of hackle sizes. I have one saddle that has predominantly sizes #12 and #14; another ranges between #12 to #18; another has predominantly sizes #20 to #24.

 

The advantage of the saddle is that you can buy one having the range you know you will use. And you can use virtually every feather on the skin.

 

The obvious advantage of the cape is you will be able to tye practically any size fly. The disadvantage is that after tying a few hundred flies you have a cape that is only half-used up. And the feathers that remain are too large or too small for your usual tyes.

 

My personal recommendation to the beginning tyer would be to buy the cape. It is simply more versatile.

 

It is less easy to recommend your first colours. If you plan on tying trout flies I would suggest you start with Brown, Grizzly, and Medium Dun. Later you will need Ginger and Black. And eventually you will want a Coachman Brown, Light Dun and Cream. By then you will be addicted and will go off in search of a Honey Dun, a nice Cree, a Rusty Dun and maybe a few Variants.

 

By the way, invest a few bucks and get at least one good hen cape. Once you become familiar with hen hackle I promise you will want more.

[trouterguy 0]

Sounds good guys, thanks for the advice, makes alot of sense.