Hackle Types

[crappiekid24 0]

I was wondering the differences in the different types of hackles. Like what is good for wet flies and whats good for dry flies ect. Thanks.

[rockworm 0]

Although there are (as always) a few exceptions*, rooster neck and saddle are used for dry hackle. Everything else can be used for wet fly hackle, although some feathers are far superior to others for this purpose.

 

*One of the exceptions, in my opinion, is genetic hen neck which is often stiff enough to be used in dry flies.

 

 

[rhinorods69 0]

try take a hackle gage with you. when you buy so you know what you buying. also judge the feathers for webyness not many barbs or barbs to far apart along with wider tipnot a perfect point and watch out for the fluffy downy type of stuff at the base of the feather. make sure there is not a lot of it. what i watch for is the guy to set down the cape he was about to buy because it's to small for 14's it's mostly 16's but if you tie the way i do using a 16 hackle on a 14 dry turns out better then using the 14's you got to grade your capes to the best of your ability only use your best cape for dries. you do not have to buy the best capes most of my capes are bronze and silver good but not the best produced by whiting farms.

 

 

try not to mail order them if you can.

 

 

 

as for colors i use mostly grizzly brown and med and dark dun here in michigan. in the western parts of the u.s. you mat need green blue duns red etc... just be careful what you buy because 50 buck or more a cape is very costly mistake the colors i do not use often i buy in Chinese capes like red black etc... saves money at 5 for a cape instead of 50 and yes Chinese cape come in same colors but tend to be more weby. plus come in saddle and necks same with dry fly grade coming in saddles and necks. this is why you judge by webyness and fluff. if you tend to tie a verity of streamers dry etc.. get a neck in the best grade you can afford if all you do is tie a lot of dries like size 16 -22 get dry fly saddles you can tie 4-6 flies on a single hackle. to were you may only get 1 out of a neck cape hackle thats for dry flies only. saddles are cheaper in 1/2 saddles if your only tying for your self and a few friends if production tying get the hole saddle but most definitely judge size by what your tying and do not for get to grade.

 

 

 

any ways good luck and tight lines rhino................

[peregrines 0]

Crappie Kid

 

For wet flies like this Black Gnat Wet Fly you’d want feathers that have soft barbs, that sort of flow with the underwater current and wave around a bit. Feathers from hens, partridge and grouse are often used. This is what they look like when wound on a wet. Notice how they sweep back towards the bend.

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern6591.html

 

For stuff like woolly buggers, you’d want feathers with long soft “webby” barbs. You can tell a webby fether if you bend the stem and the barbs sort of clump together. Woolly bugger hackle usually are about 5” long or so, and you can usually use strung hackle or bugger packs of feathers. When wrapped around the hook they look like this:

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern182.html

 

For dries you want feathers with stiff barbs that will support the fly on the surface of the water. Good quality genetic dry fly hackle from a brand like Whiting is the way to go, but can be expensive. “Genetic” hackle comes from roosters that have been specially bred for tying dries, and are far superior to cheaper Indian and Chinese ones for tying dries. Good dry fly hackle will have thin stems that are straight (not twisted) to make them easy to wrap, and should have barbs of uniform length. When you bend the stem, all the barbs should stick out straight from the stem. Dry fly hackle can be from the neck (or “cape”) or saddle (back) of the rooster. Whiting 100’s are packs of long saddle hackle feathers that will tie about 100 flies in one size and one color. Because the feathers are so long, you can usually get about 5-6 flies out of one feather. The packs run about $13 a piece. Notice how the hackle barbs stick out straight on this Royal Wulff:

 

http://www.flytyingforum.com/pattern200.html

 

If you let us know what you’d like to tie, and what size hook you want to use, we could probably suggest some stuff to get.

 

peregrines

 

 

[rhinorods69 0]

thanks i knew i forgot some stuff was trying to remember what any ways good luck and tight lines rhino............

[Ephemerella 0]

Welcome!

The wonderful thing about this forum is that it holds great stuff... like the answers to your questions...

About hackle

 

Does this help?

-E

[Soft-hackle 0]

Wow! you've gotten some terrific answers. I'd simply like to add that when tying wets, take a tip from Leisenring and adjust your hackle selection to the speed of the water. Really soft hackles collapse in water that's going really fast and it lacks the vitality needed to imitate a living insect. So cock hackle can be used on wets in certain situations.

 

Mark

[crappie 0]

I tie some of my wet flies with dry fly hackle to push more water.

They seem to work betting in dingy, dirty water.

 

Crappie

[DHise 0]

Indian and chinese hen capes are great for wet flies. Also, the Brahma saddles are superb for such uses. The hen necks can also be used for wets but are primarily used for split wings on traditional dries.

 

Genetic rooster capes are typically for dry flies in a wide range of sizes (sz.8-24); plus, the spade hackles (dry fly tails) also come off these capes. Genetic rooster saddles are often quite long but the size variation is much less (sz.12-18) compared to rooster capes; unless you purchase a special midge saddle.

 

Woolly bugger saddle, strung saddle hackle, and schlappen are typically used for streamers but can also be used on nymphs and wet flies. Of course, it all depends on size.

 

The best wet fly hackle is probably starling, English grouse, and Hungarian partridge; but, the new Brahma saddles are exceptional, as well.

 

That's all I know. Peace out!