TheCream

Smaller version, size 10.

 

 

 

Ask your local flyshops if they would start carrying Whiting. Sometimes that is all you have to do. If they won't, ask if they can get them.

One said no, the other said they can order a cape for me, but I have to pre pay it, and if I dont like it, too bad. Lol. No returns or denying the cape. Basically its mine no matter how bad it is...

I think you should be seeing now why Fly Fish Food's flash hackle is so popular. All of this hassle, gone.

Still not gonna work for me. Cant afford it...

 

I didn't mean to imply it's what you should do now. Sorry if you took it that way. I was merely pointing out that your experience is why it is popular. No struggle, no guess work. You know what you're getting even though you can't visually inspect the hackle before you buy it. It's the same way (on a much cheaper scale) with deer hair. I pay a little more per bag to get it from Pat Cohen, but I know without a doubt that I'm getting top grade deer hair. You can get tempted by a cheaper price tag somewhere else, but I've bought bags with largely unusable hair. That doesn't happen buying through Pat.

My biggest fear for you in this hackle purchase is that you're going to get a cape that doesn't work for the purposes that you're buying it. It won't be unusable, but if you need size 18-20 and the vast majority of the cape isn't that size, you've spent $45 on a cape that doesn't do what you needed from it.

 

Ask your local flyshops if they would start carrying Whiting. Sometimes that is all you have to do. If they won't, ask if they can get them.

One said no, the other said they can order a cape for me, but I have to pre pay it, and if I dont like it, too bad. Lol. No returns or denying the cape. Basically its mine no matter how bad it is...

 

I think you should be seeing now why Fly Fish Food's flash hackle is so popular. All of this hassle, gone.

Murdich Minnow, old faithful.

I shot a SBS on the Bronze Goddess last night.

https://bobcathollow.blogspot.com/2018/06/tying-tutorial-bronze-goddess.html

This fly.

Ok guys so I settled on feather emporiums standard whiting capes that are unpackaged. He said that they are bronze to silver grade capes for $45... hoping they work out for me... anyone get his capes before and can tell me if that was a bad or good choice?

Time will tell. You'll have to inspect what you get when it's delivered and see if the gamble paid off. Hopefully it does so you don't have a $45 cape you largely can't use.

 

When the hackle is on the water and looked up at by a fish, does the shade or color actually show enough to make a difference?

I should think that grizzly or a light dun would nearly disappear against the sky.

I definitely agree with you there, that's why I don't worry too much about hackle color on my dries.

 

I also agree with thecream, I just don't fish any flies tied with a standard hackle any more, it's more likely a parachute or something without hackle. When I do use flies with upright hackles it's usually a thorax pattern or something like an elk hair caddis. In either case I usually clip the hackle on the underside of the fly. With any of those flies, parachute, thorax, or caddis I usually use a hackle a size or two bigger, it helps float the fly better. Because of that I don't often need tiny sized hackles.

 

And even then with an EHC, you can sub in CDC and tie a CDC and elk. Or tie them naked with a shuck and tie an X-Caddis. Options, options, options.

All I can is thank God I dont tie trout flies any more or have the need for high quality hackle..I still have pieces of a #1 Metz from close to 50 years ago thats gets me by for the warm water stuff I do....thats right 50 years old.

 

Some of the quills are brittle now so I just pull on them hard to check them to see if they are going break while winding them..if they do well then its tailing material for some other fly.

 

If I had to buy $60-$100 necks I couldnt afford to tie.

 

I am running out of current necks Ive had for 20 years though and Im about to have to buy some American Rooster necks to tie my bass bugs I like to tie and those are like $40-$45 and I need 6 colors..thats an investment to me.

I'm probably in the minority on this, and I preface it with I'm not a die hard trout fisherman, but I see hackle as a luxury item. I tie a good deal of trout flies for trips and buddies, and I almost never use hackle on a non-parachute dry. I can't even tell you the last time I used a "standard hackled" dry fly for trout. If it's not a parachute, I use lots of deer hair comparaduns and CDC or snowshoe rabbit duns. CDC, snowshoe, and deer hair: cheap. Hackle: expensive. I think the original poster is in a little bit of a trickier situation trying to tie dries that small. It would be harder to tie hackle-free dries that size, in my opinion. Possible but harder. Most of mine are in the 12-16 range and avoiding hackle is easy.

 

If you need something specific, I would strongly consider going over to Fly Fish Food's site and checking out their graded flash hackle. No guess work in buying, they tell you the sizes and grade you're getting.

$115 for a silver grade black??? Lol. The going price is $90. I think not. Even at my local fly shops they are $90. Too rich for my blood. I can get a gold grade for $5 more. Haha. I stopped after looking at the first 5 on that flash sale. Too much money.

 

The risk is entirely up to you. You can buy hackle cheaper, it's not debatable. But what you are buying is guaranteed to be what you need. Buying hackle sight-unseen can be pretty risky, and if you're willing to take that risk, go for it. If you need size 18-20 and get a cape with more 14-16 feathers, then your cheaper cape might be mostly unusable. The flash hackle, the reason it's more expensive is because there's no risk. Or you could go with 100 packs, which are obviously less bang for your buck, but again, you're getting exactly what you need and nothing else.

And keep in mind, you're shopping for midge grade dry fly hackle. You're going to pay for it. This stuff isn't coming from Fly Tyer's Dungeon for $10.

Bronze Goddess

Klinkhamer (for sulfur hatches in TN)

If you need something specific, I would strongly consider going over to Fly Fish Food's site and checking out their graded flash hackle. No guess work in buying, they tell you the sizes and grade you're getting.

Hex Spinner (Carnage variation)

 

 

 

 

 

No need to fumble around in the dark changing soggy flies.

 

 

hook - Dai Riki 135 #6

thread - UTC 140 yellow

core - 25lb Mason

tail - bucktail dyed brown

body/head - 1mm foam yellow

wing - Congo Hair white

hackle - grizzly/brown

 

 

Regards,

Scott

Scott, I've seen you post these carnage style flies a lot and I apologize if I just missed what I am asking in this question: ever done one in a damsel or dragonfly version? I think it would be killer on warmwater species near me. It's on my to-tie list.

Mixed bag.

but it seems the River Road product only cuts foam material

 

thats incorrect

 

read the river road creations website

 

http://riverroadcreations.com/products.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/caddiswing.htm and http://riverroadcreations.com/WingMaterials2.htm

 

look under the "materials" section and youll see materials other than foam that can be used for wings

 

river road creations cutters are solely not just for cutting foam

 

furthermore, you dont need river road creations cutters to make caddis wings. its really not that hard to use a synthetic wing material, fold it in half, make a couple of angle snips and you have caddis wings

 

get a template for caddis wings

 

 

lay it on some synthetic wing material and trace the wing onto it. cut out wing

 

I can speak from experience (not from Google). The River Road cutters will cut wing material, but they do not cut it well in my experience. I bought a couple of cutters a few years ago in preparation for our 17 year cicada emergence. I started off trying to use Web Wing and the cutters did not cut it well. I frequently had to cut with scissors along the mark (not cut) made by the cutter. After a few flies trying that, I ditched the web wing and used a foam wing material. The name of it is escaping me at the moment. The foam wing cut very easily. Foam products cut like butter with the River Road cutters. If you are going to be using a non-foam material, I'd try another method.

Micro sculpin-ish carp bug.

A chartreuse Clown Shoe Caddis has been demolishing fish in Ohio this spring.