Gallo de León

[vicrider 0]

Bimini, you do realize the lowly chicken is a long distant relative of the velociraptor family. I'd want more than a leash to walk one that size in case ancient instincts kicked in.

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Yes 12 feathers almost 8 euros & Tarjous = Discounted! These are the 2 flies i tied today, first picture is with Whiting, second picture is with the real stuff! I used ten fibres for each of the tails! Do i love Whiting hackle products? = YES! Are the fibres from the side of the neck on the cape recomended by Whiting for tail fibres from the same part of the bird as the real stuff? = I don't know, probably not! Do you get much of the real stuff for your money? = NO! Did the real stuff feel so beautiful something like a untouched Princess? = YES! Could i stop touching it once i started? = NO! Would i buy more? = YES! Do bananas grow in Scandinavia? = NO! Do people fish with worms? = YES! Has a can been opened here? = Looks like it! Ps, 10 fibres is massive overkill for the real stuff, i think 3 max!

[Bimini15 0]

8€! That sounds like ei tarjous at all!

[Adam Saarinen 0]

Someone checked a word!:-)

[Cold 0]

FWIW, having tied with both (all three if you count the Whiting Tailing Packs in Pardo), the primary difference between the expensive Spanish feathers and the (somewhat less) expensive Whiting feathers is price.

 

The (few) Spanish feathers I've used are marginally stiffer in the barbs (only detectable in a side-by-side comparison...I'd say the average tyer, given a single feather, would correctly identify about 50% of the time). Also possibly more significant, at least on the feathers I had access to, the webby portion along the stem toward the base was bigger in the Whiting birds. For tailing most dries, and most other applications, it wouldn't be a huge issue, but if you're tying something that specifically calls for 1" or more of completely webless CdL fiber, it may matter.

 

This all being said, though, I should also mention that, imho, the qualities of the Whiting CdL feathers has a range, and it's worth your while to buy them in person. The CdL saddle I bought has fibers very similar to the Spanish feathers for the top 1/2 to 2/3 of the feather, which itself is more usable length than the Spanish feathers. The tradeoff here is barb density, but if you normalize for price, I'm getting at least ten times the feathers for my money.

 

So to sum up my take, while there's certainly something to be said for using "authentic" materials, CdL is one area where I feel you can get acceptably close (I'd say 90%+) to the "real thing" with a more economical option. This, in contrast to things like seal fur dubbing, polar bear hair, Whiting saddle hackle, Seaguar fluoro, etc. where the closest sub just isn't close enough, and if you need that material, you might as well just bite the bullet and pony up for the real thing.

[thinkingredneck 0]

Maybe this is like the famous now extinct Spey Cock that had no substitute. I also remember when cdc was the magic bullet. Face it, we like the idea of some special, hard to find stuff, preferably from black market sources. Magic. Kind of like urine scalded belly hair from a female fox for one old pattern, or hair from a ram's testiicles for a "Tup's Indispensable". This arcane stuff makes it fun. Mike might do better if he bought his flip flops from a remote village near the Chattahoochee river from a Seminole guide.

 

Funny story. . We had some education dignitaries from China visit or facility. They gave us a special commemorative writing pen made in China. I told him all of our pens were made in China. Lots of smiling and nodding and photos. And the special pen doesn't write. Go figure. At least those feathers haven't been outsourced....yet

[Dave G. 0]

Lately I've been messing with calligraphy, both nib tips and inks. I got some Japanese nibs, very good. I'm going to try some Brause Nibs next ( German I believe). I have English (Leonardt) Nibs, the #40 and #41 are good. Some of the better inks are India, some made in China fwiw. All this started simply because I want to sign my rod blanks when I build a rod ! Kind of getting hooked on paper and ink etc. maybe.

[cheech 0]

I have both. I have tied and fished with both, and the main difference between the two is the person tying with them. If you are a guy who likes to have something that is harder to come by, and pays a premium because of a sticker on a package... the stuff from Spain will suit you fine. If you are a guy who is practical, and wants a high quality product that is both inexpensive and easier to find... the Whiting stuff will suit you fine.

 

The key is to compare a SPADE to a SPADE. Literally. The stuff from Spain is spade hackle, so it would be unfair to compare it to the neck hackle from a Whiting bird. The Whiting stuff comes with the good spade feathers too. Regarding luster??? Taking a species out of a region to make it lose it's luster??? nope.

 

IF YOU DIDN'T READ ANY OF THE STUFF ABOVE THIS, MAKE SURE YOU READ THIS!!!! ->>> The feathers are functionally equal, and the fish DON'T CARE.

[JSzymczyk 0]

Thanks for the information, Johnny. It is good to know that the chickens are tortured by plucking the feathers, rather than humanely killed and skinned.

Bwaaahahahaha!! There's more than one way to skin a cat, I mean chicken.