Hackle Question Probably asked 1000 times.
Brown Trout
understanding hackle is harder than tying flies :)
anyway, i was going throught this great catalog from a place called
flyfishersparadise (http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/) and they say that
hackle #1's are for dries and #2 are for wets. I recently went to a fly
shop in the area and they guy said i could tie fine dry flies with #2
hackle. Whats the deal? The catalog by the way is really good. great
prices, and they comment on each product. the suprising thing is that they
usually say that a cheaper product is the better one...not to many companies
would do that i guess. Anyway, can i tie good flies with #2 hackle? and
while i'm at it, i thought the really cheap "hackle" thats like 5 bucks was
for wets....i'm confused. oh well.
Luke
p.s. not affiliated in anyway with flyfishersparadise..never even ordered
from them...i would recommend getting a catalog though.
Ernie Harrison
Dry fly hackle has very like web while wet fly hackle is mostly web. Web
free hackle is used for dry flies and scarcer so it costs more. Many things
go into grading a hackle. The number and size of feathers on a neck or
saddle, the color and amount of imperfections like stem twist and
flexibility etc. Different companies grade their hackle differently.
Ernie
Brown Trout wrote in message <5u3f4.387$d51....@news3.voicenet.com>...
>Sorry to ask this, i'm sure you've all heard this one before...i think
>understanding hackle is harder than tying flies :)
<snip>
daytripper
<jah...@snip.remove.this.net> wrote:
>Sorry to ask this, i'm sure you've all heard this one before...i think
>understanding hackle is harder than tying flies :)
>
>anyway, i was going throught this great catalog from a place called
>flyfishersparadise (http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/) and they say that
>hackle #1's are for dries and #2 are for wets.
Not by any conventional rating system, imho. Completely different animals -
one is usually taken from a cock and the other a hen.
>I recently went to a fly shop in the area and they guy said i could tie fine dry flies with #2
>hackle. Whats the deal?
The guy in the fly shop is correct. Generally, the difference between a #1,
#2, and #3 neck or cape is the range hackle sizes, the barbule count and
stiffness, and then lesser metrics.
#1's will provide a good count of small stiff hackles that'll tie down to the
smallest size patterns (like #28, even), and won't have many really large
hackles for big flies at the other end of their range; #2's won't have as many
of the smaller hackles but will have more of the larger, and the barbules
might not be as stiff or as dense as a #1; and finally, the hackle range on
#3's will be biased towards the larger sizes, and the barbule count/stiffness
may be less than the #2's.
>The catalog by the way is really good. great prices, and they comment on
>each product. the suprising thing is that they usually say that a cheaper
>product is the better one...not to many companies
>would do that i guess.
Hmmm...I'd say that such generalization in a catalog is a warning sign.
>Anyway, can i tie good flies with #2 hackle?
Yes indeed - if that #2 comes from a reputable supplier and you understand the
grading system that they use.
>and while i'm at it, i thought the really cheap "hackle" thats like 5 bucks was
>for wets....i'm confused. oh well.
Finding a really excellent wet fly cape (like a really primo coachman brown
cape) can set you back as much as an excellent dry fly cape. And may be harder
to find.
/daytripper
Brown Trout
brown
> cape) can set you back as much as an excellent dry fly cape. And may be
harder
> to find.
>
> /daytripper
And i thought tying my own flies might also save me money :)
Thanks for the great response.
Luke
daytripper
<jah...@snip.remove.this.net> wrote:
>And i thought tying my own flies might also save me money :)
I'll bet there's a whole bunch of us here - with material caches well into the
4 digit cost range - that would belie that belief.
The worst of it is that the more you improve your cast, the worse the payback
on tying your own becomes (you just don't lose enough flies! ;^)
But...Tying flies can be a major source of enjoyment. And after all, it's what
God intends for us to do when he freezes the waters.
/daytripper
Tom Littleton
>Tying flies can be a major source of enjoyment. And after all, it's what
>God intends for us to do when he freezes the waters.
...amen!
Tom L
vincent p. norris
>flyfishersparadise (http://www.flyfishersparadise.com/)
That's not quite what the catalog says. Quoting from page 9:
"Metz #2 necks exhibit the same hackle length, stiffness, and sheen as
#1 necks, but are not as strong in the #20 and smaller feathers."
In other words, they are dry fly hackles, but ther aren't as many
small feathers as on a #1 neck.
In a later paragraph, "Metz SADDLES (emphasis mine) are excellent
large dry fly, streamer, and nymph material. #1's are better suited
for dry fly work, while #2's work well for subsurface applications.
Metz HEN necks and saddles tie exceptional wet flies, nymphs...."
So "subsurfadce applications" is not synonymous with "wet flies."
Perhaps that could have been worded more clearly.
> The catalog by the way is really good. great
>prices, and they comment on each product. the suprising thing is that they
>usually say that a cheaper product is the better one...not to many companies
>would do that i guess.
I have been a happy customer of Flyfisher's Paradise for many years
and agree it is an excellent place to buy. They are good people.
> Anyway, can i tie good flies with #2 hackle?
Yes, and the folks at Flyfisher's Paradise would be among the first to
tell you that.
>while i'm at it, i thought the really cheap "hackle" thats like 5 bucks was
>for wets...
Wet fly hackle is much less expensive than dry fly hackle.
vince norris