Whiting Bugger Packs

[feathers5 0]

I need some woolly bugger hackle. Are the Whiting Bugger Packs worth it? I bought some other brands and boy were they large and bad.

[planettrout 0]

In a word...YES, they are...

 

 

 

PT/TB

[bad fish rising 0]

very much so

1 of my favorite things to buy

the feathers are so long you can get alot of flies out of each 1

[novabass 0]

I agree, I have been happy with mine.

[joefly79 0]

I agree also, I tried them and wont go back.

[tidewaterfly 0]

I've never used them, so what is a good price to pay for them? I've seen them on Ebay @ $18 a pack with free shipping. JStockard has them @ $18.45 plus the shipping. To me, a usable full saddle for tying buggers shouldn't be more than about $20-25. (Yeah, I know the prices went up with the hair extension craze, but I'm cheap!) I'm not talking about dry fly saddles, and I tie mostly size 8 or larger. I use strung saddles a lot too. For what you get in a Bugger pack, how does that compare to a full saddle as far as the number of flies & the sizes, if I'm primarily tying in the size 8 to 2 range?

 

Maybe a better question, what sizes will they tie most?

 

Thanks!

[JohnP 0]

I've never used them, so what is a good price to pay for them? I've seen them on Ebay @ $18 a pack with free shipping. JStockard has them @ $18.45 plus the shipping. To me, a usable full saddle for tying buggers shouldn't be more than about $20-25. (Yeah, I know the prices went up with the hair extension craze, but I'm cheap!) I'm not talking about dry fly saddles, and I tie mostly size 8 or larger. I use strung saddles a lot too. For what you get in a Bugger pack, how does that compare to a full saddle as far as the number of flies & the sizes, if I'm primarily tying in the size 8 to 2 range?

 

Maybe a better question, what sizes will they tie most?

 

Thanks!

 

I picked up a brown-dyed grizzly Whiting Bugger Pack a while back and have been tying up a season's worth of beadhead buggers. They seem to work fine from about a size 4, 4XL down to size 10 or 12, depending on what part of the feather you are using. Definitely a worthwhile purchase, in my opinion.

[tidewaterfly 0]

JohnP, Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind my asking, how many of these packs have you used? I'm just trying to gauge if what you're saying is the norm. If it is, I guess I'll stick to strung saddles. Sounds like they might be better for someone who ties more of the smaller flies. Plus, right now I still have a pretty good supply of "bugger" saddles, so if I need to tie smaller I really don't need to buy anything.

 

feathers5, what did you buy that was large?

[JohnP 0]

JohnP, Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind my asking, how many of these packs have you used? I'm just trying to gauge if what you're saying is the norm. If it is, I guess I'll stick to strung saddles. Sounds like they might be better for someone who ties more of the smaller flies. Plus, right now I still have a pretty good supply of "bugger" saddles, so if I need to tie smaller I really don't need to buy anything.

 

feathers5, what did you buy that was large?

 

 

This is the first of these I have purchased. Plenty big for a size 4, 4XL hook, and probably larger, but that's about as big as I go for buggers for smallmouth bass.

[cmb18895 0]

yes

[feathers5 0]

JohnP, Thanks for the reply! If you don't mind my asking, how many of these packs have you used? I'm just trying to gauge if what you're saying is the norm. If it is, I guess I'll stick to strung saddles. Sounds like they might be better for someone who ties more of the smaller flies. Plus, right now I still have a pretty good supply of "bugger" saddles, so if I need to tie smaller I really don't need to buy anything.

 

feathers5, what did you buy that was large?

 

I bought some Wapsi and Hareline strung rooster. Most of it was good for size 4 and 6 buggers and bigger. I tie a lot of 8s and I got only a couple feathers in that size range. Maybe just by the luck of the draw I got packs with larger hackle, and maybe most of the ones they sell aren't like that. But, I don't know. If you could find someone who ties for a shop they could probably give you a better idea. Like you I think we're better off sticking with saddles because of the variety of sizes.

The Best,

Bruce

[tidewaterfly 0]

Bruce thanks! Most of the saddles I've bought are Wapsi or Hareline, and agree with you. Plenty of the larger feathers, which is fine for the sizes I tie most. I guess if you're looking for more feathers to tie size 8, you would have to be able to hand select it to get what you need.