Hackle pliers

Tell me your favorite brand and style. I need to buy a couple new sets. My thompsons are shot.
BillMc

Bill I have went to the newer rotary hackle pliers. I have found that they make tying smaller flies much easier when wraping small neck hackle. Maybe it is just me getting old? But it they sure make it so you do not feel so cramped when wrapping the small neck hackles. I also feel i have better control. Ron

Bill,
My favorite hackle pliers are the tear-drop shaped ones. I've had mine a while so I'm not sure who they are made by. I noticed that Hook & Hackle has some for $2.10.
Steve

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"If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went"-Will Rogers

I have been using the rotary type for years. Never use the other types any more. Do yourself a favor and try them.

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Joe

I have never really found a pair I have been totally happy with. Most let you down just at the point of wrapping the neatest hackle you have ever done. None actually grip with total reliability.

I now use the Tiemco ones too. Expensive but small, easy to hold and have a reasonable grip. I recommend them.

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Best regards

Mick Porter

mickporter@lineone.net

I have been trying different hackle pliers for a while and the best for me are the Tiemco ones. I want to try the midge version as soon as I find some. The only problem is that the plastic tube on one jaw split within the first day or two but I substituted some heat shrink tubing and it seems OK so far.

Dan

Bulldog clamp, or as they were called artery clamp. Best thing you can get the Dette's use them and the Darbee's used them back in the day.

Hi Bill,

There are two things I like to see in a pair of hackle pliers. Many have one or the other but few have both. They are a swivel and a spring. The ones I have are Jan Sieman brand. They come close to what I want from hackle pliers. The other one that I have aecently aquired are the Hackle Nabbers. These are brilliant for grip they just do not let go. However that can result in the stem breaking.

Regards,

Alan.

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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Bill,

The hackle pliers I prefer are the Dorin(sp?) teardrop ones. However, I found they were just a tad lighter than I would have prefered, so I taped some lead wire with duct tape around the large loop opposite the jaws.

Even the best (we all have our own preferences) pliers will occassionally break a hackle or the hackle will slip out. I just find that this style works well for me.

Allan

I have both the J. Dorin teardrop pliers as well as the Griffin rotating pliers. Each has its place in tying different sorts of flies.

I recommend having a pair of each just to cover all bases.

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RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:de4d8]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:de4d8]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...tips/clip2.jpg
This is what I use...get two for about $4, at Radio Shack.

~Parnelli

The good thing about hackle pliers is like mickporter, I never found a pair I totally like which allows me to buy any pair I see that interests me in the fly shop. I have LOTS!

I use EZ-Hooks, lots of English types, Umpqua, Thompson and the Griffin Rotary type which I cut down the handle on to make it easier to work with.

I love and hate them all equally.

I wish someone would come up with a truely good pair,I really do.

Anyone know a sourse for the soft rubber thinger on the Griffin Rotary Pliers..?..

I've tried regular rubber "O"rings,as well as heatshrink,went as far as coating the jaws with Flexament and leaving them hang open overnight and still just don't grip as well...

JC......$12.95 !!!! for hackle pliers....whooo boy, I need a job that pays what yours does..... http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/biggrin.gif

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"I've often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before" A.K.Best

"Wish ya great fishing"

Bill




[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 01 August 2005).]

billknepp:

I slipped a small piece of wire insulation over the end of the pliers where the rubber; (so to speak), was.

So far it works OK but not as good as the prophylactic that came with the pliers originally. The trick is to find wire the right size that you can strip the insulation off of. I think I used some insulation from #14 solid copper wire, regular PVC or TW type insulation.

shrink wrap is you best bet, but the more rubbery type

Steven H,
What might those little thingers be called..?

Seen A.K. use one in his one video for tying the Micesis shrimp...and if it can grip Cellophane well,I'm thinking it should be able to hold a feather stem even better....

billknepp:

Not to jump on Steven H's toes here but the original trade name of those gizmos he uses is EZ-Hook. They are used on the ends of multimeter probes to make it easy to take readings on small components. You push on the end and a spring loaded hook pops out. I have one on the end of a Zinger that I use to hold small flies while attaching my tippet.

Look for them at Radio Shack or any good electronics supply. Some fly shops carry them too but at a higher cost.

Re: "those little thingers"

Some can have sharp edges on the metal hook...check on that and file smooth ...and some can tend to ride deeper into the plastic so as to cut....there may be a difference in quality depending on where you get them.

They don't seem to work for me as well as I expect...anyone have clues.

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Respect Your Elders!

Parnelli, your tool looks good. I've used hackle pliars for a long, long time, but mostly after I become frustrated from doing it by hand and having whatever I'm wrapping slip loose a second or third time. Right now I'd be hard pressed to find a pair on my tying table. Then again, I may not be very good and I'm also rather eccentric. As long as the fish don't care I sure as hell don't. After plucking down some decent change on a Danvise I'm pretty secure in my tyer's cave. What a great tool. I might give one of those spring loaded dealies a shot, though. jGW

Bill... Feather-Craft sells the pliers that Parnelli has here. It's an EZ-mini hackle pliers.


Mike

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There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.


Patrick McManus

The E-Z pliers are hard to beat in my opinion. The only exception is that the knock-off versions from even some of the better fly material shops are really junk. I bought several that way for my class kits and scrapped them. The R.S. version are good as hackle pliers but also make good dubbing loop tools and even as fly holders when attaching tippets on the stream. (They do come in sets of 2)