What To Do With Tiny Hackle

[BennyB 0]

Hey Guys i am new to fly tying (havent even got a vise yet lol im poor) but i am just buying a little supplies here and there when i can.

 

so my dad orders some stuff the otherday and i had him get me some metz dry hackle (size 20 and 22,) now me being a noob didnt know how small those are, they are TINY! so what can i tie with them and do i need size 20 hooks to coraspond with the sizes?

 

any help of adivise would be greatly appreceated

 

P.S. what should i buy get for hackle to use on size 8 wolly buggers and size 12ish adams?

[utyer 0]

Hackle sold and labeled as size 20 or 22 should be properly sized for those two hooks. In general, hackle on dry flies will be 1.5 to 2X the hook gap. This measurement is for the length of the barbs after they are wound around the hook. You will want feathers long enough to wrap 4 to 8 times around the hook. Yes, they are tiny, but so are some of the insects that many fish eat. For a size 12 dry fly, you will need hackle that is 1.5 times the gap of a size 12 hook.

 

You can purchase or make a hackle gauge to measure and size the hackle from your necks or saddle pieces.

 

For dry flies, you will want to be getting decent quality hackle which is usually sold attached to the skin. Neck or capes which come from the top of the head and neck of a rooster, contain a wide assortment of sizes. The saddle (sometimes called a patch,) comes from the bottom of the neck and upper back of the same bird. The length of saddle feathers is usually much longer than neck hackles, but the range of barb sizes found on a saddle will be much smaller. Usually a single saddle will have 3 to 5 different size hackles, while a good neck will have usable hackles from size 24 to size 1, some necks will even have feathers as small as 32, and larger than a size 1.

[SilverCreek 0]

If the color is right, You could use it as trico spinner wings.

 

 

 

 

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox/print.cfm?parentID=110

[Jimr1961 0]

Look up midge patterns for your size 20 and 22 hackles. If it were me, I'd put them small ones away for awhile and cut my teeth on size 14 and up. When you're comfortable with the mechanics, pull the small ones out and have at it.

[netabrookie 0]

To try and answer the woolly bugger hackle question, I would suggest trying the Whiting Bugger Packs. There is a lot of hackle and you will have woolly buggers laying around everywhere, but that isn't a bad thing....I agree with the others about possibly laying the tiny hackle aside for a while and warming up on bigger sizes...

Take Care,

Tony

[shoebop 0]

If you are new to flytying (as you said), tying size 20 & 22 flies is probably not the place to start. They are pretty very small. I didn't even attempt anything smaller than a 14 for several months when I started. My advice is save that size 20 hackle for when you are ready for it.

[Steiner 0]

When I ventured into the small territory, I started with griffiths gnats. The 20-22 hackle could be good for those and they aren't incredibly difficult, relatively speaking.

[BennyB 0]

If you are new to flytying (as you said), tying size 20 & 22 flies is probably not the place to start. They are pretty very small. I didn't even attempt anything smaller than a 14 for several months when I started. My advice is save that size 20 hackle for when you are ready for it.

i aggree i was just trying to figure out what to do with things that small.

 

i never realy understood the diffeant sizes in hackles intill now thanks for the info

[BennyB 0]

also any opinions on capes ? are they all the same of are the diffeant?

[TheBigHenderson 0]

Yeah I would put the hackles up somewhere safe until you've had enough experience to tie midges or other small flies.

As for the capes, there are differences, mostly in color and length, usually dependant on the species.

[SilverCreek 0]

Deleted post

[dontheo 0]

I would thank my Dad.