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For some reason I like fishing wet flie's. In the size #10-16 Now i wish to tie some but having a hard time figuring out do i need a cape or a saddle . Some of the pattern's call for hackle tip's and some of tip's look look like the soft hackle hen i use on my prince nymph.
And Looking for book's on wet fly pattern's
For that size range you will want a hen cape. They are much cheaper than dry fly hackle and work much better for wet flies. For a general overview of wet flies you might like Dave Hughs's book entitled WET FLIES. ray Bergman's TROUT is the classic source on the subject for American fly fishers if you can find a copy.
Besides Hen Cape (chicken), there are many other soft hackle capes available. Pheasant, Quail, Grouse, Duck, Geese, Partridge, Starling, Waterhen, Coot, Golden Plover, Woodcock....almost a endless list, many can be found in different colorations, or dyed.
My suggestion is stay with the local soft hackle available in your region, and modify fly patterns where needed. It is more about dressing hooks to catch fish than to try and reinvent patterns where the material is not readily available. ~Parnelli
I suggest Conranch they will send you both saddle and cape, great feathers, great price and an
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http://www.conranch.com/
Eric
Indian Hen is very versatile for wets and nymphs and you cant beat the $3 or $4 price. Versus upwards to $100 for a saddle and a cape.http://www.jsflyfishing.com/cgi-bin/...-Hen-Back.html
J. Stockard http://www.jsflyfishing.com/ has about every kind of feather the average tyer could ever want.
Like has been mentioned above, all of the game birds lend themselves to wet fly applications perfectly. Genetic hen and Indian capes are well suited also.
I'm by no means a wet fly expert, but I do catch a few on soft hackles every season.
A light brown partridge skin, a starling skin, and a medium dun hen cape should make you all good.
I fish with wets year round. Brown hen capes from Whiting are my choice for 90% of my SH patterns. They too are starting to add the Saddle to their packaging. It's tough to beat a feather that you can get 3 flys out of.
I use India hen backs on a lot of my wets. "Natural" brown, and dyed brown.
Stream,
Genetic Hen makes a great soft hackle, as do many of our game birds like partridge, chukkar, quail, etc. For books, one of our members is selling his collection of Ray Bergman's Trout for really good prices. http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/s...Trout-Blow-out
If you go with the gamebirds, I've found the packages of loose feathers are almost useless. I buy the entire bird skin and have feathers that will probably last my lifetime.
Steven mentioned a starling skin and that is a great bird for hackling flies. Almost every feather on the bird can be used in one way or the other.
REE
Exactly as Ron said on ALL points, starlings are cheap,inexpensive good material.Avoid loose feather from the shop.
"Long live Soft Hackles." I agree with the hen hackle comments and would add that the unbranded mottled or black hen backs shown in several catalogs are a good buy at a little over $5. I would also note that Metz hen necks are a bit softer and have a slightly longer barb length than Whiting. The smallest Metz hen grizzly feathers are less pointed than the Whiting and make better dry fly wings if you also tie drys.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bass_Bug
who sells hen saddle and cape for $100, conranch is $35 for the pair? ( I have to get one of there JV in Cree)
My bad Eric. I clicked on capes and clicked on saddles, guess those are roosters. I was also quoting a $4 price for Indian Hen. Which leads me to ask, what IS an Indian Hen and whats the difference between Brahma, mature and other hens. I guess we need to be comparing apples to apples on our hens here.
The main difference between an Indian neck and a Genetic neck, is that genetic birds are bred for their feather quality as it equates to fly tying. Indian necks are Indian raised birds and are bred for consumption. The feathers are a by-product. Brahmas are a larger bird bred for consumption as well, named after the Brahmaputra region of India. For the most part, Indians and Brahma are just plain old chickens, with the Brahma being the larger breed. Not a scientific explaination....but how I read it:^)
You've already received a ton of info on feathers.
As for books I would agree with the Dave Hughes book which I own. Another author to search out is Sylvester Nemes. V.S. "Pete" Hidy and Jim Leisenring also wrote a great book on tying and fishing soft hackles "The Art of Tying the Wet Fly" but it's rather expensive. And, if you search google at all search on the word 'flymph' which was a term coined by Pete Hidy that describes the stage when a nymph is emerging. There are some great resources devoted to this stage and type of pattern.
This book, by Allen McGee, is an excellent primer for tying soft hackle nymphs. There is information here that I have found nowhere else - compiled into one source...
http://www.amazon.com/Tying-Fishing-.../dp/1571884033
Bergman's book is also available at Amazon...I have two copies and it most certainly was the inspiration that got me into fly tying...and I tie many different soft hackle patterns today...
http://www.amazon.com/Trout-Ray-Bergman/dp/158667014X
PT/TB :D
Hey I would just like to suggest that you contact denny at conranch. I got in on the Jv hen deal a while back and have been loving the soft hackle ever since. they're cheap, easy to work with(the feather stems are thin and soft so they wrap like a dream), and they catch a ton of fish.