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Thread: For what use ?

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    Question For what use ?

    I recently bought a couple Chinese hen saddles because they were nicely mottled with fine stems. Now I find that they are just too large for the size soft hackles I want to tie. Can anyone suggest other uses?

  2. #2
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    Beck's Super Bugger; I tie the body with 2 or 3 hen saddles.

    Regards,
    Scott

  3. #3
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    You can use them for dry fly wings, or use a tying technique that allows you to use larger feathers for smaller flies. Or use the necks for throats on salmon flies, or tails on wets.

  4. #4

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    The following is step one for 90% of the soft hackles I tie (And I tie over a thousand a year for sale) after starting the thread. I very seldom wrap soft hackles now unless they're genetic hen, and I much more commonly use game bird or India hen feathers:

    --Strip some barbs, keeping the tips even. Tie in just behind the eye, facing forward. Spin the barbs around the hook using moderate thread tension and 2 wraps. Spread using fingers if necessary. Tighten thread.

    Tie the rest of the fly as desired, then throw a whip finish ahead of the barbs to stand them up.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fly Tyer View Post
    use a tying technique that allows you to use larger feathers for smaller flies.
    Wally has a good video:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-dfsN0ZPkc

    Craig Mathews, too:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-jWkKpbLNU

    Regards,
    Scott

  6. #6
    AlanB Guest

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    Quote Originally Posted by Longs for Cutts View Post
    The following is step one for 90% of the soft hackles I tie (And I tie over a thousand a year for sale) after starting the thread. I very seldom wrap soft hackles now unless they're genetic hen, and I much more commonly use game bird or India hen feathers:

    --Strip some barbs, keeping the tips even. Tie in just behind the eye, facing forward. Spin the barbs around the hook using moderate thread tension and 2 wraps. Spread using fingers if necessary. Tighten thread.

    Tie the rest of the fly as desired, then throw a whip finish ahead of the barbs to stand them up.
    Exactly what I'd do with them.

    Cheers,
    C.

  7. #7

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    Those are good tips... I do have a lot of large feathers that I have no use for. Now I know what to do with them!
    M
    "And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world" Satchmo

  8. #8
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    I have use all 3 of these techniques. One tip is to make sure and leave the hook shank bare where you are going to spin the hackles. I also prefer a thread that flattens out on the hook shank.YMMV
    One of the cool things about Matthews method is you can tie 2 or 3 flies out of one feather. I use "Longs for Cutts" method for spinning mallard flank.

  9. #9
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    Streamers, Bass Flies, Woolly Buggers, etc....

  10. #10
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    Hi Ray,

    I sometimes use such feathers for a soft hackle front hackle on a bugger. The extra length has even seemed to do well. In those cases I have sometimes used a single front hackle in place of a palmered hackle. This has been especially handy when I have tied down the chenille and trimmed off the extra chenille and then realized that I had forgotten to tie in the plamer hackle at the back of the fly. The long front hackle saved starting over, and the results seemed to fish fine.

    Another use might be to use them in place of pheasant for the soft hackle on a Carey Special.

    Regards,

    Gandolf
    Last edited by Gandolf; 04-13-2013 at 06:31 PM.

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