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Stoneflylama72

Best feathers for small soft hackles

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I need to buy more feathers for my soft hackle flies. I've been using a ruffed grouse skin that my father shot for a couple of years. I have picked it clean of 14-20 size feathers. I tie mostly 16s and 18s but a few 14s and 20s would be nice if they were in there too. I don't know exactly which feathers/skin to buy. Hen capes? Partridge? Starling? Which kind is best for 16s and 18s? Brown with some mottling would be nice but plain brown works. Thanks for any help!

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I need to buy more feathers for my soft hackle flies. I've been using a ruffed grouse skin that my father shot for a couple of years. I have picked it clean of 14-20 size feathers. I tie mostly 16s and 18s but a few 14s and 20s would be nice if they were in there too. I don't know exactly which feathers/skin to buy. Hen capes? Partridge? Starling? Which kind is best for 16s and 18s? Brown with some mottling would be nice but plain brown works. Thanks for any help!

Bob White Quail breast feathers work well for me for 18-16-14's. Some brown, some gray mixtures. Starling is good too, quail a little easier when wrapping collars.

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Also look at the small coverlet feathers on wings of smaller skinned birds. And then try the traditional method of winding the hackle and thread together that is used in the Stuart's Black Spider video on Youtube,

 

Simplicity itself and it makes durable, very 'fishy' flies in small sizes..

 

Rocco

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Thanks for the replies. I have a source for free or very cheap Bob white quail birds. I might see if I can go to the farm and scavenge feathers as I'm not sure if I want to try and cure a skin myself though. And the method shown in the spider video looks like a great way to strengthen the little feathers for small flies. The starling feathers in video look like they make really nice soft hackles. I have seen and used a couple of methods where you take a bigger feather than ordinary and tie it in at middle of hook, bind it down forward to eye and tie back into a smaller soft hackle than the feather would normally produce. It works but is a little bulky and I'm not good enough to get the hackle exactly the way I want it using that method. Also can't put a bead directly behind hackle that way if desired.

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I also like starling. I have three skins that I’ve bought - natural, olive, and dun. They have feathers that will work down to tiny flies.

 

Joe

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I have found the most economical (and they provide a good range of sizes) are grizzly (and dyed colors over grizzly) of juvinile hen necks. These used to be priced in the $5 to $10 range. These days they may be more like $20 to $25 - but they are still a good buy considering how many feathers are on a good cape.

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Went to the fly shop today and bought a Wapsi (imported) hen neck for about $6. It has some small and very small feathers to use. Wanted to buy the Whiting or Metz hen necks, they have a lot more small feathers and the feathers are a lot longer too. But $22+ tax was not in budget today, wanted to buy a few more items instead. I'm pretty addicted to these soft hackle flies so would like to pick up some better necks as well as starling in the near future.

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There are some other methods to use large feathers on small flies that don't bulk up the fly... here's a link.

http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/forum/threads/using-larger-feathers-on-small-soft-hackles.81978/

Thanks for the link. I like the method in the first video better than the method I have used. Looks to add less bulk since the feather stem isn't used. I will try it for sure as I like the color and barring on my grouse feathers better than the color of this imported hen neck.

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I am a huge fan of the JV Hen Hackles from Clearwater Hackle formerly Conranch Hackle - good stuff indeed. I will be on vacation Thanksgiving week and will have 5 dozen soft hackles featuring these feathers in my boxes ready to do battle with some Mountain trout. Only need a few a day but will have some to pass out to friends, family, and strangers.

 

http://www.clearwaterhackle.com/jv-hens/

 

 

Take care,

 

Shmang

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dont rule out ostrich herl on the smallest of sizes

 

any size feather can be used if done right

 

cheaterone4blog1.png

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There are several sources of Ruffed Grouse skins. I've gotten them from Badger Creek. He shows grouse and Bob White Quail skins for $15. I have also used snipe for smaller soft hackles. Really, any game bird will do. They all have similar quality feathers and in similar colors. The patterns vary a bit, but they all work.

 

If you have hunter friends, that's even better.

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One thing to keep in mind about game bird feathers vs hen hackle - the stems of most game bird feathers are quite delicate and brittle, causing the tyer to exercise caution when winding. Hen hackles are more robust in the stem. I have also found I can often get two or more flies from one hen neck feather.

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Yeah I'm still in the market for good feathers to tie 18s and 20s. The imported hen neck really only goes down to about 16s in useable quality feathers. I got the imported neck in a furnace color/pattern and I do like the darker center and lighter outer halo effect when wound on the fly. Worth keeping but no barring/mottling effect like game birds or grizzly.

Does anyone have any experience in the differences between Brahma hen necks, 4B hen necks, and regular Whiting type hen necks in regards to which has most small fly size feathers?

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