Dry Fly Saddle ...nat Coachman Brown

[bear-kodiak]

Hello Listers: Was wondering why it is so hard to locate a dry fly saddle in the natural Coachman Brown ( not dyed) color......jim

[Uncle Jesse]

I don't know, but I am betting these folks will have a good answer for you.

http://flyanglersonline.com/about/conranch/

[rainbowchaser]

I don't think Denny offers a coachamn brown saddle. Whiting's Herbert Miner line would probably be your best choice if you must order one sight unseen.

[Buddy Sanders]

I've noticed this too. Still see a lot of plain old brown in the imported necks, but the better quality genetic stuff doesn't seem to come in that color much without dying. My guess is that the genetics they select/want for feather quality/quantity somehow deselect for that color.

I'll admit that my personal sample is low, since I only see what is in the few fly shops I actually get to walk into.

But you can always get brown feathers that have been dyed, and I prefer the quality of the dyed feathers anyway.

Good Luck!

Buddy

[Joel D. Popham]

Denny Conrad does have a "brown" saddle on his web site. You'd have to look at it to see if it the color you want. I don't think he dyes anything. Best Regards....

[Steven McGarthwaite]

All of Denny Conrad's Capes are natural coloration, due to his breeding stock and their history, he has 6 different families of hens and roosters. And it is through the breeding of the hens of one family with the roosters of another family that all the different capes are determined. His daughter Liz, keeps tracked of the breeding and the resulting broods of chicks. There is over 20 years of family history of all of Denny's breeding stock. Amazingly he does a better job of it then the larger names in the business. Denny also does not sell commercially to fly shops or other mail order companies. A very fair price for some of the finest hackle available to the fly tier at very reasonable prices.

Just the fact that Conranch Hackle is a Sponsor of FAOL, should be all you need to know that it is the best out there. ~Parnelli

[NJTroutbum]

You have to look at each hackle individually in my opinion. Browns can vary in shade greatly, in ALL breeders that I have seen. The best I have found over the years are the original "Hoffman" Browns, if you can find a leftover somewhere. I still have a brown neck and saddle that I guard closely and I grab them up whenever I find them. But it's really tough to buy mail-order with browns...more than other colors IMO.