Hi Rick,

This summer I was tying Bully Bluegill Spiders, and tied up a few with hen saddle that I had dyed to a color that matched the spider.

They worked fairly well. I don't know if the regular rubber hackled ones would worked just as well or better, but they might have.

The hen saddle is wonderful stuff, soft, webby, and moves very easily in the water.

I tied them up as a collar hackle rather than as a palmered hackle, because the collar hackle better matched the pattern.

I think your thought that the soft hackle will move better than the rubber with tiny short strips may be right on the money. Especially in very cold water.

Regards,

Gandolf