Hackle Gauge

[Lotech]

I can't believe that someone would pay $25 for a hackle gauge. Are they really that important, and can I find one more reasonably priced?
Don't you just measure your hackles by multiplying the hook gap by 1.5?
Maybe not.

[jklett]

I made my own by measuring the hook gap and making a line 2x(I like my hackles a little longer) that from the edge on a business card. I also measure for the tail and wings the same way. Costs nothing(unless you count the pen and card). Make up as many as you need for different hook types or sizes.

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

Almost any store selling fly tying supplies will sell you a Griffin hackle & hook size guage for about $5.00. once you have used one for a while you can tell the size just by looking at the hackle using the guage only once in a while. Walmart has them. Cabelas has them Sportsmans Warehouse has them.

[Lotech]

Almost any store selling fly tying supplies will sell you a Griffin hackle & hook size guage for about $5.00. once you have used one for a while you can tell the size just by looking at the hackle using the guage only once in a while. Walmart has them. Cabelas has them Sportsmans Warehouse has them.

Thank GnuBee,
See you in June.

[kengore]

Some of my packages of Whiting saddle hackle have a hackle gauge printed on the back of the display card. I just cut one out and epoxied it to a small block of wood and added a finish nail. Total cost, about 25 cents worth of scrap materials...

[Greg H]

Don't you just select a feather you presume to be correct, bend it under the hook at the bend and LOOK to see how long the hackle is compared to the gap. If the hackle gauge it on your vise post you are moving the same distance to do the same thing and it is a) less exact, and b) making a determination based on someone else's template (not the hook you are using). Hackle gauge: ever had one, don't want one.

[fritz]

I take a small "postit", mark off the hackle length I need (about 1.5x hook gap) for a specific hook and stick it onto the base of my vise with the edge (represents the shank of the hook) of the "postit" touching the vise post. I then wrap the hackle around the vise post to splay the hackle directly onto the "Postit". voila"

[chewydog]

I gotta go with what Greg H said. I used one for a while, but where I live most bugs are small. It's hard to see the very tip of hackle for a size 20 or 22 especially if the color doesn't really contrast the gauge. A simple bend of the hackle under the belly of the hook is much easier. Plus I don't have all that garbage on my vise.

[Normand]

why not just bend the feather around the hook shank and eyeball 1 1/2 to 2 hook gaps for the length. the fish dont come with phd's!

[alra195]

Joe,

Drop me a PM with your e-mail address and I can send you a copy of some gages I printed from FAOL. I tried to post a link to the old FOTW where this was but it can back dead. If your interested I'll send it to you as a document file and you can then print and laminate them and be in business.