Hackle... Who grows the best of the best

[cheech 0]

What brand of hackle do you prefer? I'm talking high grade dry fly hackle here. I have my preferences, but I'm doing a bit of research to find out what people like and why. Is it all about having the best? Is it the cost? Is it the colors? Is it the durability and functionality?

 

Name your preferred grower and why you like their product.

 

Thanks!

 

Cheech

[BattenkillBum 0]

My favs are Whiting and Hebert. The Heberts I have were bought many years ago so I don't know if they are still available. Obviously the thin stems and spring steel like barbs are are a huge selling point but I have also aquired some great barred gingers and crees so the colors are great too. I have a large selection of Metz too, purchased in the late 90's. Im not so fond of these but still find uses for the lower quality hackle. I have heard that the metz quality has improved but have not yet tried them again. My wife has placed a trade embargo on my "fishing room". As far as cape vs. saddles I like them both equally. Hope this is pertinent iformation for your study. Tight lines, Bill

[SilverCreek 0]

My favs are Whiting and Hebert. The Heberts I have were bought many years ago so I don't know if they are still available. Obviously the thin stems and spring steel like barbs are are a huge selling point but I have also aquired some great barred gingers and crees so the colors are great too. I have a large selection of Metz too, purchased in the late 90's. Im not so fond of these but still find uses for the lower quality hackle. I have heard that the metz quality has improved but have not yet tried them again. My wife has placed a trade embargo on my "fishing room". As far as cape vs. saddles I like them both equally. Hope this is pertinent iformation for your study. Tight lines, Bill

 

Hebert Miner is a part of Whiting.

 

http://www.whitingfarms.com/prod_hm.html

[whatfly 0]

It is really not a complicated question. Whiting produces the best hackle overall, and there are a slew of also-rans. There are some specialty growers that produce individual products that rival Whiting, but no one can even come close overall. I would not mind seeing greater competition in hackle production, because then the prices might stop soaring, but there is such a huge gap between the market leader and the rest of the field, this does not seem likely to ever happen.

[Jaydub 0]

I haven't found anything better than Whiting. But I'm not stuck on Whiting only. I buy other genetic hackle, based on price and availability. Most of them have been been acceptable.

[flytire 0]

I think each grower has their own following of fly tyers

 

I have some older Henry Hoffman saddles that I use for dries as well as whiting

 

I have some kehough hackle that ive used for saltwater and streamer flies

 

I have some no name brands that I use for bass poppers

 

I still have older metz and spencer hackle from the early 80's (that's all I could afford back then + the Chinese hackle)

 

I use Chinese hackle for streamer wings

 

I tried the conranch brand but but didn't really like them

 

a lot of tyers like the Collins brand

 

I think it all breaks down to what youre tying

 

theres a lot of good hackle growers out there. you just need to take off your whiting blinders!

 

for me I like different flavors of koolaid

[Bryon Anderson 0]

I like Collins Hackle because it's very comparable in quality to the big national brands and you get more bang for your buck because he gives you the matching saddle patch free when you buy a cape. That's hard to beat. Plus, I just like the guy. He doesn't do e-mail and he doesn't take orders online; you have to either call him or write him to place an order. To me, theres' something pleasantly old-school about that.

I'm not saying his stuff is "the best of th best", it's just the best for me.

[Ed Gallop 0]

I do not think there will be many that disagree that Whiting is the best overall but there are several other excellent brands just as good. I raised and bred chickens, jungle fowl, and exotic pheasants, for years. I came down with double fungal pneumonia as a result of not wearing a mask cleaning poop from nesting areas. I ended up hospitalized and a year of harsh medications. It can be fatal. I suggest anyone doing it to wear a good filtering mask. I did manage to get some very nice feathers with thin even stems, but couldn't compare with the highest grade of Whiting. Even Whiting's quality will vary from bird to bird but overall... They may be matched but can't be beat in my opinion. When I consider price of any material I consider how many flies I can get and their quality. A $4 Indian neck may seem like a bargain compared to a $70 Whiting neck but the cost per fly isn't that much more and the quality is well worth it. A person should shop around because Whiting may not be the best bargain compared to other high quality brands. That is why I have several different brands in my inventory.

[cheech 0]

I think each grower has their own following of fly tyers

 

I have some older Henry Hoffman saddles that I use for dries as well as whiting

 

I have some kehough hackle that ive used for saltwater and streamer flies

 

I have some no name brands that I use for bass poppers

 

I still have older metz and spencer hackle from the early 80's (that's all I could afford back then + the Chinese hackle)

 

I use Chinese hackle for streamer wings

 

I tried the conranch brand but but didn't really like them

 

a lot of tyers like the Collins brand

 

I think it all breaks down to what youre tying

 

theres a lot of good hackle growers out there. you just need to take off your whiting blinders!

 

for me I like different flavors of koolaid

Whiting blinders... That's in interesting one that I haven't heard before.

I think that any product has "fan boys" with "blinders" on toward the product that they have. Because of this, I'm launching an apples to apples comparison of the major brands of hackle. Opinion will be set aside, and pure data will be used to assess each pelt that we evaluate based on several criteria. Some of the numbers thus far are pretty shocking, and the full report will come out in the coming weeks

[whatfly 0]

[snip]

theres a lot of good hackle growers out there. you just need to take off your whiting blinders!

 

Reread the question. OP did not ask for "good" growers, he asked for the "best" and further note the question was about dry fly hackle, not all hackle in general (even though the answer does not change). Show me another single hackle company with the same breadth and depth of a product line as Whiting and I will concede the point...but the problem is of course that such an animal does not exist.

[flytire 0]

No need to reread anything. My answer stands as is.

 

I'm not worried about my answer so why should you?

 

You voiced your opinion, I'm entitled to mine

[Crackaig 0]

This side of the big pond there isn't the choice you have. Some Whiting and Metz make it across (chickens don't fly all that far). For dry fly hackle I use either Metz Microbarb saddles or Whiting's Pro Grade Saddles. However I only buy them from a couple of suppliers I feel I can trust, can talk to and explain what I am after. Its a 16 hour round trip drive to the nearest shop I know that sells these hackles, so I have to rely on the shop to find me what I need.

 

There may be higher quality hackle available but they suit my needs. Last week I spent just over £100 on three saddles that will only keep me in dry fly hackle for 2 patterns for 12 months. The higher grades are significantly more expensive. Almost double the price.

 

We have one hackle producer here, Chevron Hackles. Their hackle has its uses but is not up to the grade of the imported ones. Before Christine bought the company it was DJ Hackles, the owner of DJ once told me that some of the practices of the American breeders are illegal here. That makes me wonder about why we are permitted to import the products. If true it would explain why we don't have the highest standard of hackle produced here.

 

I may not use the very best available, but I do use the best I can get at a price that enables me to sell the flies I produce. If I read the question right that's what you are asking for.

 

Cheers,

C.

[JSzymczyk 0]

for "high grade dry fly hackle" Whiting is the standard which all others are compared to. Due to availability, marketing, whatever reasons, Whiting "rules the roost", so to speak.

 

YES, there are other "high grade" hackles out there. Whiting has taken the science of breeding the best hackle to a level which no one else can really touch.

 

I'm very interested in seeing the "pure data" which will be included in the upcoming evaluation---- because even though hackle breeding is down to nearly exact science, it is still natural material and data (whatever data it is...) will vary even among chickens which are brothers reared at the same time in the same conditions. Not to mention that "high grade" hackle will mean different things to different people... Some folks think the BEST capes have tons of quality feathers in the 18-22 size range, personally I couldn't give a flying fish about hackle that size.

 

Bottom line, you go pick up Whiting dry fly cape or saddle, there are really no questions to ask anymore, you KNOW it is as good as anything else out there.

 

I've said it before, hackle has come so far in the last 30 years or so, that if you showed one of today's high quality capes to a tyer from the middle of the 20th century or before, they would crap their pants.

[oldtrout58 0]

I can't say that I've found the equal of Whiting's Silver Grade from anyone else's highest grade. But I've only purchased one cape in the last several years, a Conranch Cree that is very nice, so I don't know what is available in today's marketplace.

[Stevester 0]

I have been pleased with the necks and saddles that I have gotten from Collins. Does he have the absolute best quality? Probably not, but then he doesn't charge a mint either. People tend to forget that Whiting started small also and over the last three decades has worked to improve the genetics of his flocks and optimize the growth conditions. Sometimes this has meant buying out smaller competitors or breeders who wanted retire.

 

For the non-scientitists, breeding for multiple traits in vertebrate animals is a very complex and time consuming process with a lot of dead ends. I have Metz necks from the 80's and believe me, any current decent quality neck is equal or better and is not really any more expensive considering inflation. The current top saddles are much better. I am not a dry fly purist but I enjoy handling and working with a nice neck. I suspect a lot of the gold quality necks never have a feather plucked from them, they are kept in drawers and pulled out to admire.

 

Steve