Dry Fly Hackle Wings and Tails- Best Hackle

[Fly Tyer]

Hi everyone,

Being away at university I only have a small package of materials with me for tying up some flies for summer fishing. I want to pick up some quality winging and tailing hackle. I was wondering what the best material to pick up is for the tails and wings on dry flies. Are their good hackle patches for the wings? Also, are there best capes or saddle for the tailing fibers?

Thanks a bunch!

Phil

[narcodog]

Hackle isn't normally used for wings. Dry fly wings are duck flank or water fowl secondary feathers from wings. If tying parachutes then poly yarn of turkey flats can e used.

For tails Whiting makes good tailing packs. you can also use strung hackle. What you want to use is a nice stiff hackle.

[ScottP]

Best tailing hackle I've found are Charlie Collins spade/scapular packs; long (up to a #8, easily), stiff barbs, reasonably priced.

Regards,
Scott

[Fly Tyer]

Thanks for the reply. I use saddle hackle for all my dry flies, so tailing fibers are not available on a saddle. As for the wings, thanks for the suggestion, duck flank is pretty cheap i think. I like the look of the Adams fly with the hackle wings, but dont know what hackle that is.

[Fly Tyer]

Thanks Scott, I will check out Collins tailing packs!

[narcodog]

Thanks for the reply. I use saddle hackle for all my dry flies, so tailing fibers are not available on a saddle. As for the wings, thanks for the suggestion, duck flank is pretty cheap i think. I like the look of the Adams fly with the hackle wings, but dont know what hackle that is.

For adams wings you can nip out the tips of the saddle hackle. Or you can get a hen neck.

[rainbowchaser]

For tails You can get Coque De Leon saddle in the Whiting tailing packs. Use the light speckled as a grizzly substitute and use a few fox squirrel tail fibers for the brown. Saddle hackle tips will not make very good looking wings. Get the cheapest grizzly hen neck you can find. They will have more more rounded tips than the birds raised for fly tying.

[Steven]

Hi everyone,

Being away at university I only have a small package of materials with me for tying up some flies for summer fishing. I want to pick up some quality winging and tailing hackle. I was wondering what the best material to pick up is for the tails and wings on dry flies. Are their good hackle patches for the wings? Also, are there best capes or saddle for the tailing fibers?

Thanks a bunch!

Phil

Since you use saddles for the collar, you can try coq de leon tailing packs from Whiting or micro-fibbetts for the tail. Fibbetts are cheaper and easier to use (IMO) but some people like only natural.

The best hackle for hackle-tip wings is hen neck. Try to get as rounded tips as possible. I really like the Whiting American Hen Necks but they're kind of hard to find right now for some reason. The Whiting American Hen Saddles are not usable for this purpose.

As noted, you can also use lemon wood duck or mallard to make figure-8 wings a la the classic catskills. Teal makes a nice wing in this manner for an Adams. Wood duck is very expensive on a per feather basis - it's called "flytier's gold" for a reason.

If desperate times, call for desperate measures, you can always use poly for the wing or go wingless - as many do here.

[ScottP]

Another option for Adams-like hackle tips are Wally Wings



Some folks use mallard but I had better luck with partridge; took a bit of playing around to get it right but not really too difficult and they look cool. Here's the link to the SBS if you're interested:

http://www.drakemag.com/message-boar...hp?f=6&t=24622


Regards,
Scott

[mahanvey]

For Tailing, you can also use bristles from a cheap paint-brush!