WHiting hackle?

[Luke McLeod]

I am a beginning tyer and I have been looking at hackle. Any opinions on Whitings Introductory hackle packs? Thanks. Luke

[ScottP]

4 1/2 capes in ginger, dun, brown and grizzly for $60. According to the description at one site they come "from a whole new type of bird! Whiting developed them just for this purpose". The pricing puts them below the Pro Grade in quality, so they'll probably have few usable hackles for anything smaller than #18 but if you're just starting out, sounds like a good way to start your hackle collection. Whiting puts out a good quality product.

Regards,
Scott

[Donald Nicolson]

Welcome to fly fishing Luke. If you are just starting out tying flies, try soft hackle wet flies.
They mostly use hen hackles, or game bird hackles, and are not difficult to tie.
Whiting Hen skins are very good, also Conranch skins are well worth a look.
Cock hackle is much more limited in its uses, mainly dry flies, and is more expensive.
Again welcome to our obsession.

[tiogadog]

Whiting is mostly what I use, but I tied a few (half dozen) parachutes last night using a Grade 2 Metz Cree that I purchased a few years ago. While the density of fibers wasn't equal to Whiting, I did find the feather wrapped flatter. That is to say, it did not exhibit as much cupping as a Whiting.

That said, Whiting is a great product and the intro pack should serve you well so long as you are getting the colors you will use most often.

[whatfly]

Interesting product. Had not known these were on the market. While I have not used them, I do think Whiting hackle is the best out there, albeit usually at a high cost. Looks like it comes in capes and saddles, and I would recommend the capes for a beginner so you have the largest possible range of feathers as you develop you skill. Another choice is the "Bronze Cape Combo" or whatever it is called which is two higher quality 1/2 capes in grizzly and brown. Best of luck.

[TyroneFly]

Whiting has excellent products, but another quality source you might want to consider and an excellent bargain is Conranch Hackle. Here is a link to their website. http://www.conranch.com/

[Luke McLeod]

I had looked at Conranch's capes and they are very impressive. I like the idea of dealing with a Family and not a corporation, but I am just starting out and looking for multiple colors and I just can't justify sinking that much money into 4 whole capes right now. I have no doubt I'll switch to them later, but for now the budget is tight. Thanks for the info folks. Luke

[Luke McLeod]

Looking at the Bronze Cape Combo brings up another question: Gold-Silver-Bronze? Does this correspond to the Grades 1,2,3 I see elsewhere and is a Bronze or grade 3 going to be useable for dry flies? My understanding is that the lower the grade the less suited it is for dries, and more suited it is for wets. I plan to tie both, but I want to know that I'll have the option for dries. Thanks again. Luke

[ScottP]

http://www.bearsden.com/page843.html

The charts show range and "sweet spot" of each grade of Whiting/Hebert Miner. Even if those Intro capes are lower grade than the Pro, you'll still have some very good hackle to work with.

Regards,
Scott

[MidgeMadness]

If you are planning on tying flies in the size 12-16 range I would say you will be fine with the combo packs. You should get plenty of feathers in that size range, maybe a little less of the size 16. Its a good way to get a couple of different colors without having to buy the whole cape of each color. Another option would be the whiting 100 packs, they are saddle feathers and are longer feathers which might be a little easier for you to work with. When you are ready to purchase some full skins I would suggest giving Denny(Conranch) a try. Good luck!


Rodney