Trouble finding Hackle?

[maodiver]

You may wanna check your local Cabelas. They had Whiting Bronze full saddles half off. Capes were about half off, as well.

I know this stuff is still a little hard to find, even though the fad seems to be dyin'.

[Byron haugh]

I understand Denny of Conranch Hackle has a good inventory

[DG]

Most of the hackle retailers I see have a decent selection once again. However, my local Cabelas has an horrible selection of fly tying stuff, and I did not see any hackle yesterday.

[narcodog]

One thing I have learned from Cabelas is that they do not carry everything in the store that is available. It's not just tying materials but other stuff. I was looking for some tent poles in the store, didn't have but I could get it the next day if I wanted to wait. It was also with a particular hat. Another time it was carpet for a boat. What I'm sayin is they have it but it's not displayed.
I would suspect that fly tying and fly fishing is a very low percentage of their business.

As far as availability I find there is no shortage. What I do see is that some producers have raised their price by great deal that the retailer, one can't afford to stock the stuff and second folks are looking for less expensive alternatives.

[ScottP]

The places I've purchased from in the past seem to have a good supply of capes and saddles, and the shops I've visited seem to be pretty well stocked, as well. Prices seem to be back to what they were, maybe a couple dollars higher.

Regards,
Scott

[Ray Kunz]

I think Narcodog has it right. A local shop would go bankrupt trying to maintain a full inventory. It's just like a lot of other retail stores. They can't compete with a mail order business especially when you factor in ordering over the computer.
The only limitation there is that you don't get a "hands-on" examination of the material.
My personal solution has been to only deal with mail-order shops that have 100% return policies.
Good luck.