Whiting 100 Pack

[TedderX 0]

I think I feel comfortable buying these off the internet but I want a reputable company to purchase them from.

 

Preferably a company that has all the options for these. And again a reputable company.

 

So, what suggestions do you guys have?

[vicente 0]

I had a disappointing experience with J stockard when I ordered from them, ordered two premo hair strips and one was great on the other the hair is so short it's almost un-spinable other than for tiny patterns or small mice, I ordered some SF fibres at the same time and one package was at least 30% smaller than the other two. I haven't brought this up to them I may at least on the hair.

[Stippled Popper 0]

I have purchased Whiting 100s online from Orvis and Feather Craft. Orvis goes up in size to #10. Feather Craft only to 12.

I don't remember buying from Bob Marriott's but have had no problems with them. They have taken the time to actually call me

when they have a question or problem completing an order.

[flytire 0]

visit your local fly shop first. they can use the business and will answer all of your questions

 

jstockard has never been a problem for me

[Poopdeck 0]

Whiting packs are great in a pinch but will eat your wallet out. The few I have bought came from the orvis store. Look at the intro pack of four half capes at orvis. Wait for a sale and you can get them around 55 bucks, a much better bang for your buck with a great variety of sizes.

[Stippled Popper 0]

visit your local fly shop first. they can use the business and will answer all of your questions

 

jstockard has never been a problem for me

I go to locals first. Local fly shops aren't available to everyone.

 

I've even had a local fly shop refer me to the HQ web catalog as a quicker

method of acquiring what I needed when time was an issue.

[TheCream 0]

Whiting packs are great in a pinch but will eat your wallet out. The few I have bought came from the orvis store. Look at the intro pack of four half capes at orvis. Wait for a sale and you can get them around 55 bucks, a much better bang for your buck with a great variety of sizes.

 

If you use a lot of hackle, you're probably right. Me, personally, I tie very few dry flies since my fishing is typically not for trout. I end up needing one or two sizes of a couple of colors to tie a few dozen flies, so for me, 100 packs make a lot of sense.

[Dave G. 0]

 

Whiting packs are great in a pinch but will eat your wallet out. The few I have bought came from the orvis store. Look at the intro pack of four half capes at orvis. Wait for a sale and you can get them around 55 bucks, a much better bang for your buck with a great variety of sizes.

 

If you use a lot of hackle, you're probably right. Me, personally, I tie very few dry flies since my fishing is typically not for trout. I end up needing one or two sizes of a couple of colors to tie a few dozen flies, so for me, 100 packs make a lot of sense.

 

This is why over the years I've kind of liked the #2 half necks ( although when Spencer was up and running I bought #1, today's #2 is just as good), buy them on sale and you get lots of feathers for multi uses for $22-$25-28 or so. You get a bunch of feathers for dry flies from sometimes #20 or even smaller to #12 or maybe #10, then there are a bunch of longer feathers you can can get tailing fibers out of. Usually along the side and far out on the skin are some softer feathers good for either smaller buggers or for smaller traditional feather streamers. It's a win win for that price, given that it covers several fly types. The 100's pack is already $20 and you have exactly one hackle size to choose from, though probably very good hackles for that size dry fly only.. I don't know, a half skin of feathers for not much more than a pack of one size has always appealed to me somehow.

 

I just bought two Metz 1/2 skins in fact, Metz #2 in Medium Dun and Barred Ginger for $56 I think. I can tie duns from size 18 to 12 for sure ( or whatever else would use a Dun hackle in it). So just that skin alone, never mind the barred ginger in 100's pack for those sizes would be $80. Now I can tie my size 18-12 caddis from the barred ginger as well , another $80 in 100's packs. Are you kidding me ? Plus I get tailing feathers and some streamer feathers. $56 vs $160 and I have more options and cover more fly sizes. And this is not to say that the 100's pack feathers are not beautiful feathers, they are beautiful. Just I no sooner tie some #12 ( the only size in a pack for instance) and there is a size 16 hatch of the same fly and suddenly the size 12 pack is pretty useless but i can go tie up some 16's from my skin..

[cheech 0]

I'll chime in here too... It seems that lots of people view Whiting as the company that sells super expensive hackle compared to other brands, but you can get a full bronze cape for just under $60. The rating scale on these capes are something to behold as well. A whiting Bronze will consistently tie many more flies than a higher grade from any other hackle company (I know a guy who did a big research project on it...) The consensus is that Whiting consistently will tie more flies for waaay less money. Think of it as buying the jumbo pack of toilet paper for a little bit more than the cost of a normal pack of toilet paper. At the end of the day you are getting toilet paper for much less $$ per square.

 

100 packs are some people's cup o' tea, but from a cost perspective, they aren't the best overall value. Keep in mind though, that some people will pay premiums for convenience.

[TheCream 0]

The way I look at it, I tie a few dozen dry flies per year that use hackle. They basically are all size 14-16, and I use almost only dun and grizzly. I completely agree that buying whole capes is more cost effective, but I look at it like buying a variety pack of food at SAMs Club. If there's 6 flavors and I will only eat 3 of them, whether it's cheaper or not, I am paying for something I won't use. If I buy a cape that ties flies from 10-18, there's a lot of feathers there I am likely to not use. One 100 pack will last me 2-3 seasons, easily, if not more. I accept that I am paying a little more for my hackle, knowing that I am not paying for a lot of material I might never use.

 

And CDC dries are better than hackle, anyway.

[Bruce Norikane 0]

Capes have many more sizes and feathers per dollar, but many never get used.

 

I have about a dozen capes or half capes, mostly Whiting, many gleaned from bargain bins. All have plenty of feathers left, but a lot of them have bald spots where I've plucked my frequent size hackle. I should replenish with a saddle or 100 pack that covers those sizes. But for many colors, a 100 pack would have covered my life of tying.

 

What about quality? The Whiting 100 packs are very high quality saddle hackle with great length and barb count. It's great to use fewer wraps per fly and get more flies per feather. For my favorite patterns, I usually tie 4 to 10 of each size, so plucking a single feather for 6 flies is very efficient.

 

Also on some flies, the higher density is awesome to help float the fly. I see some flies online with a lot of barbs in a narrow profile, and I can never match the barb density wrapping a single feather.

 

If I was starting over, I'd buy a good whole grizzly cape and a whole brown cape and other colors in 100 packs or half saddles.

 

Just some thoughts on my tying experience for mostly mountain trout fishing.

[fishingbobnelson 0]

First, regarding J. Stockard, I have never had a problem that they would not resolve. Email them about the problem and I am pretty sure they will make it right for you.

 

Next, I like the 100 packs for hackle colors that I do not use that often. I don't tie a lot of patterns with barred ginger, so having a few feathers for a few patterns makes sense to me. I buy capes in the more standard colors, especially grizzly, dun and coachman brown.

[Dave G. 0]

I haven't had any issue with JStockard either but if I did I feel confident that they would deal with it. I've called them a couple of times and they seemed "willing" so -to -speak.

 

Another use for the odd long feathers in a cape is stripped quill bodies and twin quill tails. But yeah, if you guys don't have use for the extras then it's not worth while I guess. Hah, you probably have better inventory control than I do anyway, I'd probably misplace the packs of exactly the one I needed !

[Poopdeck 0]

The way I look at it, I tie a few dozen dry flies per year that use hackle. They basically are all size 14-16, and I use almost only dun and grizzly. I completely agree that buying whole capes is more cost effective, but I look at it like buying a variety pack of food at SAMs Club. If there's 6 flavors and I will only eat 3 of them, whether it's cheaper or not, I am paying for something I won't use. If I buy a cape that ties flies from 10-18, there's a lot of feathers there I am likely to not use. One 100 pack will last me 2-3 seasons, easily, if not more. I accept that I am paying a little more for my hackle, knowing that I am not paying for a lot of material I might never use.

 

And CDC dries are better than hackle, anyway.

What your doing definatley dictates your options. I tie everything from small fresh water flies to large freshwater and salt water flies as well as teasers and bucktails. I really don't gave a favorite size hackle and will eventually use all of them.

 

I agree with others that whiting offers great hackles that are very consistent no matter where they are purchased.

[tietofish 0]

Two good sources for Whiting (and other things as well) are Great Feathers in Sparks, MD and Jim's Fly Shop in West Yellowstone, MT. Both have excellent websites that you can easily find using Google or other search engine.