Coq de Leon, Which One to Use? Roosters, Hens, Capes, Saddles, Select

[Harold Ray 0]

For all who use Coq de Leon in their tying, which of these are the best for you? Do you swear by hen or rooster, saddles or capes, which do you buy and why? I have used Whiting for years, so that is the brand i have been planning, but if you have other suggestions, please let me know.

 

I haven't used much of this feather in the past but plan to use more this spring for some tying events. I would appreciate your opinions on which type is the best to buy. Roosters are normally more expensive, and you can save money on hens, but if you're looking for the best end product, which is the fly, a little extra cost for better feathers isn't a big thing to most.

 

And, where have you gotten the best deals; a link or links would be appreciated.

 

I will appreciate your thoughts!

 

Thanks!

 

Ray

[Fisherboy0301 0]

What do you plan to tie with them... That decides rooster vs. hen.

[Harold Ray 0]

I plan to tie it in as shuck on woven flies primarily, or wing covers, near the heads of the flies.

 

I just have never used it and know nothing about Coq. What are the other primary uses, and what factors differentiate between the use of rooster or hen for the uses. I would really appreciate learning that, so I can see where it can be used and why one is better than the other for a particular use.

 

Thanks!

 

Ray

[Crackaig 0]

Mostly I use CdL for tails on dry flies. For that the cock feathers are what I use. If I was wanting them for wet flies and were tying enough to justify purchasing them, then I'd be looking at the hen feathers. However, in most cases I wouldn't use CdL at all on wet flies. The original selling point of CdL was the stiff, shiny cock hackles that hold up a dry fly really well. There are other feathers that will work every bit as well as the hen CdL on wet flies, Brahma hen springs to mind, and, I believe, these are cheaper.

 

Here are links to a couple of videos one with CdL hen the other with Brahma hen. If you look at the results each feather gives you will see there isn't a great deal of difference. (Sorry I couldn't find matching colours of hackle but it gives you a good idea of the performance of each).

 

Cheers,

C.

[Old Hat 0]

As most have mentioned Harold, it really depends on what you are using. The good quality rooster hackles are very stiff and long fibered. They have e nice sheen to them and are somewhat a water tight material (don't soak up much). You usually see these used in the States as tailing fibers and have come to be a better replacement for the synthetic micro fibbets. Think fine paint brush fibers. They are a bit slippery to work with. As for a trailing shuck, I'm not sure what you mean there. Unless you are just tying it in like tailing. As far as the hen goes, Crackaig is right, it is very similar to Brahma hen. Rather large and soft. Good for larger soft hackles and this would also what you would want to use for your wing covers as it is much more flexible. I don't think it offers any more that any other soft feather fibers for this purpose.

 

There are some other uses for the rooster. In the regions of De Leon, Spain where the feathers originated, rooster feather tips are used for small wet flies with built up silk bodies and a collar hackle tied in with loose fibers similar to tying in a collar of deer hair with the tips extending back and spiraled around the hook shank. Except on a much smaller scale. In this region dry flies are also tied with rooster. The hackle fibers are tied over a silk bodied fly, veiling the body to resemble a caddis wing and then using standard hackle for the hackle. Another method used is an wet/dry pattern where the rooster fibers are used very similar to a comparadun.

 

I usually purchase rooster saddles and find them very useful for a lot of purposes. the little whiting packs have nice selected tailing fibers and you pay pretty for them. A saddle is completely functional for this and most any purpose and the cost is not bad.

 

This link to Feather Emporium has one of the best selections of hen or rooster for any ting you want to do with CDL

http://www.featheremporium.com/Fly-Tying-Feathers/coq-de-leon.html

 

This link is a great one for learning more about the feathers.

http://www.flytyingworld.com/PagesP/pacosoria.htm

[Stevester 0]

The Whiting tailing packs are very good for tailing material on dries. I like them for nymph tails also, the markings just look buggy to me. I use the hen for soft hackles, but it is hard to get feathers smaller than 16 or so.

 

Steve