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I have started tying soft hackle flies, and other than partridge for the hackles, Dave Hughes' book recommends looking at hen necks. I did, and the price--if they are available at all--is a glass of ice water in the face. How about India Hen saddles? I have a pack, and they look about right. They also come in various dyed colors. What do you think?
Thanks for sharing your opinions,
GGH:D
Actually, I find India Hens necks to be the best for soft hackles even over partridge, mainly because the stem is thinner and easier to wrap around the hook. You can get some terrific colors that me beautiful soft hackles which are one of my favorite flies to tie and to fish.
Jim Smith
Starling - woodcock.
I have used starlin, quail, woodcock, hen back, hen neck and partridge. All of them will work fine.
Try to stay away from pre packaged feathers. Try to buy whole skins. The pre packages have a lot useless feathers.
??? Collins hen sets (neck + back) are about $15. That's about half of what a partridge skin is going for in most places now. Compared to dry fly hackle, hen is practically given away.Quote:
Originally Posted by ggh
If you know anyone who shoots game birds just about any will do. If you offer to skin the birds and oven prep them you'll get the skin for nothing most of the time. By far my favourite is Golden Plover, but that is hard to get and expensive.
Something I don't understand is these flies have been called "spiders" or "North Country Flies" for over 400 years. Why the sudden name change?
Cheers,
C.
GGH,
Indian Hen necks are excellent for soft hackles, wingcases and nymph legging. They come in great colors are affordable. They should have a solid place in every tyers bench.
Ralph
Some of us are afraid of spiders, truthfully I have seen spider patters and thought they were different than soft hackles. Most seemed to have reverse hackle on them.Quote:
Originally Posted by AlanB
The India hen feathers are typically too large for trout sized flies, and the I've never like the barbule structure of Indian hen (too wide/blunt, granted just a matter of taste). Much prefer genetic hen cape, but you are right those Whiting hen capes are now ridiculously priced (is anyone buying these any more?) and the Clearwater stuff is no better. Spencer Hackle used to be reasonably price, but with Hugh out of the game now, Collins is probably your best shot.
Of course, another way of looking at it is consider the price of a partridge cape versus the price of a good genetic hen cape. I'd argue the hen comes out more economical anyway you look at it.
Definitely a difference between a soft hackle and a spider. I think what we call a soft hackle, W.C. Stewart called a "fly." The spider was tied so the "legs" would go every which way. There is also question as to whether the spider was palmered over the front 1/2 to 1/3 of the hook.
(Not to mention that a spider in the U.S. is a dry fly).
From the Practical Angler:
Dressing a spider is a much simpler operation than dressing a fly, and therefore it is better to begin with it.
This done, take the feather, and laying it on with the root end towards the bend of the hook, wrap the silk three or four times round it, and then cut off the root end.
What remains to be done is the most critical part of the whole operation: still holding the hook between the forefinger and thumb of your left hand, take the thread, lay it along the centre of the inside of the feather, and with the forefinger and thumb of your right hand twirl them round together till the feather is rolled round the thread; and in this state wrap it round the hook, taking care that a sufficient number of the fibres stick out to represent the legs ; to effect this it will sometimes be necessary to raise the fibres with a needle during the operation.
Having carried the feather and thread down to where you commenced, wrap the silk three or four times round the end of the feather, and if there is any left cut it off, and finish with a succession of hitch-knots, or the common whip-fastening. If the legs of the spider when dressed are too long, there is no remedy for it; cutting injures rather than improves them.
This is a very rough and simple mode of dressing a spider, and does not make it so neat as if the feather were put on by a pair of nippers, but it is more natural-looking, and much more durable, as the feather is fastened on by the thread the whole way down.[/B]
In dressing a fly, commence in the same manner as in dressing a spider, carrying the thread up to within three or four turns of the end of the shank; then take the feather, of which you are to form the wings, firmly between the forefinger and thumb of your right hand, lay it to the bare end of the shank, whip the thread firmly round it two or three times, and then cut off the root end of the feather as close as possible.
[/B]
AllanB I think it comes from both Dave Hughs and Allen McGee's books, While both are great books and they do include North Country flies most of the rhetoric is about heavy bodied flies. Not the simple flies tyed with game hackle, a slight dusting of dubbing and silk. Whenever I talk I about s/h's I try to differentiate between NC flies and others. Leisuring and Hidy also called their flies as wet flies and soft hackles and later Hidy named flies flymphs to indicate a different type of fly.
Many of the new tyers and writers are not familiar with N.C. flies and their great history.
Set down at my vlse and hackled, a fly soft hackle style, with a Metz hen neck feather and another one with a India Hen back feather. I think the India hen feather looks best for this, but as Whatfly says, just a matter of taste. I hope the trout don't care one way or the other. My thanks to all who replied to my query.
Good fishing and tying,
GGH
anybody got an email address for collins hackle.
He does not do email, you have to call him. He does have a website but it is very minimal. Collins Hackle Farm
narcodog, thanks for the repsonse.
dont want to get accused of hijacking the thread so, ive been using whiting brahma hen necks for a while. i hackle my soft hackles using a variation on the method of hackling described by john barr when tying his graphic caddis. i find with the whiting neck i can trim the hackle fibers from the feather measure the length and spin the feather onto the hook using the torgue of the thread to get the barbules to rotate around the hook.
using this metod i can get 3 or 4 flies out of one feather
I've found that the wings from ducks and pheasants have good feathers for these (many around the "elbow"). I also highly recommend starling and woodcock and moorhen.
- Jeff
Talk to lars he should have some
That's what I was thinking - how about Denny's old flock?
I purchased (time ago) India hen hackles from Cabela's. In brown and olive...great results just tying #14 nymph hooks with some peacock strands or rusty dubbing and the hackles. Wet fly style with just 1-2 turns. I added some tungsten mini-beads on some of them behind the hackle also, to use floating lines. Again, fantastic fishing.
Indian necks is about all I use. I bought a few genetic hen necks and they were too "genetic" for my taste. Lol I could float a dry fly with those things. Paid a fortune and rarely use them.
Stick with a neck vs a saddle. Only reason being you will have a better range of sizes with a neck. You can buy a saddle but most feathers will be pretty large...mores suited for 12's and bigger in my opinion
I bought a hen pheasant skin at the Sportsmans Warehouse for about 9 bucks. There are enough feathers on it to tie more flies than most folks will ever use. In addition Jeff Hams mentioned feathers off of ducks. Yesterday I tied a couple of flies from a hen Shoveler that got too close to me. There is enough feathers on one duck to last a long time. Here is a link on the subject: http://www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/D...?pageId=875769
n
Tim
If you know some bird hunters you can get skins from them too... starling, snipe, dove, quail, pheasant and partridge are just some of the ones what are really good for soft hackled flies...