Hackle help.

[tmatt26 0]

This is my first time ordering materials from a magazine. I am stocking up on some materials and on my list are some more hackles.

 

I am ordering three 1/2 capes(brown, black, grizzly golden olive) and three 1/2 saddles(grizzly, cream, dun).

 

My question is how many about how many flies should a 1/2 cape and saddle tie? Are those colors okay?

 

How much should these cost?

 

I'd hate not to get my moneys worth, but still would like a variety of colors. I would hate to get a small clump of feathers.

 

I am planning on tying some dry flies, wet flies, and odds and end woolly buggers.

 

I know this all may seem basic stuff but I'm just trying to get all my ducks in a row before I shell out the money.

 

Thanks.

[tidewaterfly 0]

The color selection seems fine to me for what you intend on tying. The quality will be the biggest consideration, especially for tying dry flies. What brand & grade are you looking at?

 

The better quality hackle will tie more flies & more sizes. Cost is really determined by the quality & the vendor. The better quality will be higher priced. What vendor are you considering?

 

For tying wet flies & woolly buggers, you can use dry fly quality hackle, but might be better off buying hen hackle for wet flies, and saddle hackle specifically sold for buggers. The price will be less for these than for dry fly hackle in most cases, although it may involve buying more materials than you have a budget for. You should consider how many of each type of fly you think you may eventually tie, and choose your materials accordingly.

 

Buying half capes or saddles can be a good value if you buy the appropriate grade for what you intend to tie most.

 

Frankly, it's hard to just buy a small variety, because as you get more involved in tying, there will be more patterns you want to try, and will not have the needed materials, so you'll purchase more & more until you have enough to start a fly shop! That's part of the addiction many of us already have!

[David Legg 0]

Frankly, it's hard to just buy a small variety, because as you get more involved in tying, there will be more patterns you want to try, and will not have the needed materials, so you'll purchase more & more until you have enough to start a fly shop! That's part of the addiction many of us already have!

 

You mean I'm not the only ONE?

 

As for the quantity each will tie, as Tidewaterfly mentioned, it varies by brand and grade... better question might actually be how many does it tie in the size you want? Same problem... varies with brand and grade. Generally, they will last for you for quite a while though.

 

David <><

[threadpuller 0]

The price debends on what brand hackle you are planning to buy. Whiting is the best, and therefore will be a little more expensive. But, you will get more flies per pelt on the average. If you would like send me a pm and I can help you further.

[FishyboY 0]

whiting has diffrent level of saddles and capes (gold, silver, bronze) they each are diffrent in that with a gold you will get more flies out of each single hackle and bronze you will get less out of each hackle. I use the bronze because they are cheaper to purchase and you still get a fair amount of flies per hackle.

[Hairstacker 0]

tmatt26, your question is kind of hard to answer because there are a lot of "it depends". . . . How much do you want to spend? What sizes of dry flies do you plan on tying? How picky are you about the appearance and fishability of your flies, etc.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would try to be a little more focused on each type of fly. For dry flies, you want high quality rooster necks (aka capes) or saddles with web-free feathers with stiff hackles, which is exactly opposite of what you want for wet flies and woolly buggers. For example, if you get a high quality rooster dry fly neck, such as a Whiting Bronze or better, you probably won't find any feathers on it suitable for wet flies or woolly buggers. Sure, you can tie 'em up anyway but they won't look nearly as good as they could and won't fish as well either, in my opinion. If you buy a high quality rooster saddle for dries, you'll find some feathers in the back of the pelt that are suitable for wet flies and woolly buggers but there won't be all that many (maybe a few dozen feathers) and you won't have any really small feathers if you intend to tie dries that size. May be okay, though, if you don't plan on tying really small dries and don't plan on tying a lot of woolly buggers and wets. See what I mean by "it depends"?

 

Without any further details from you, here's what I would do:

 

Dry flies -- I would buy at least 3 Whiting Bronze half-capes in grizzly, brown, and medium blue dun -- the most useful colors for trout flies. With these, you'll be able to tie dry flies in the full range of typical sizes (i.e., 12 - 20 and smaller). J. Stockard (site sponsor) has these for $33 apiece.

 

Wet Flies -- I would buy a mottled brown hen back -- they're on the pelt, very easy to use, and will tie just about any soft hackle in a pinch and look great. They are especially suitable for hare's ear soft hackles. I would get one like this one sold by Bass Pro Shops for $5.

 

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...5004000_175-4-8

 

Woolly Buggers -- I think the best feathers for these come from cheap, webby, rooster saddle feathers. The best way to buy them is to visit a fly shop and examine them to make sure the feathers are long enough and the barbs are not too long; thus, it would be a bit of a hit-or miss proposition to buy them sight-unseen online, although they're relatively inexpensive. Perhaps the next best compromise would be to buy a Whiting Bugger Pack, such as these for $16:

 

http://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.php?stor...mp;target=TK007

 

The Whiting Bugger Packs feature feathers that are a little less webby and barbs that are a little stiffer than I prefer but they will do the job and can be reliably bought sight-unseen. For me, the most useful colors have been olive and black, since the majority of the woolly buggers I tie are these colors.

 

These are just my opinions, of course, but that's how I would go, anyway.

[Bruce Derington 0]

Go with Hairstacker reply, That is some sound advice

[FishyboY 0]

hairstacker. I learned quite a bit from your reply!

[tmatt26 0]

Thanks guys. Greatly appreciated.

 

I'm going to just save up and buy Whiting 1/2 capes.

 

Thanks for the help, I know I can always count on the guys on the forum for some advice.

Wish there were more people that tied around here.

[threadpuller 0]

That's what's nice about these forums. Glad to have you aboard.