Neck Hackle vs Saddle

[fritz]

Which do you prefer for hackling? It's my understanding that one can hackle two or three flies with saddle. Premium quality neck hackle has come a long way (for the better) since the ones imported from India and China. Does the stem on saddle get thicker as you get to the base end?

[Clay]

As a relatively new tyier I found this audio program done by the head of Whiting Farms extremely informative: http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/sp...mas/thomas.cfm

You can listen to it on your IPod or you can listen to it on your computer. I downloaded it on my IPod.

[J Castwell]

fritz,,,, seriously, consider calling Denny Conrad and ask about these things. He's a great guy and will be most willing to answer anything. And because he raises the very best hackle, he was selected to be a sponsor on FAOL.

[Hans]

A good quality saddle will cover most needs.
The length of the fibres is equal on the whole length of the feather, enablig to tie up to 4 or 5 flies of the same size with one feather.
The limitation is in the size you want to tie.
Saddles rarely go smaller than size 18.
Should you want to go smaller than that a neck is required imho.
The so called Chinese or India skins are a waste of money.
Try to get a good quality like Umqua or Whiting,
worth every dime.
Cheers, Hans

[Bamboozle]

fritz:

I don't know if this is a fact but it APPEARS to me that saddle hackle has thicker/heavier fibers than neck hackle.

For that reason I prefer neck hackle when tying classic patterns like Catskill dries. I just think it looks better. For everything else I use saddles.

[nwpathfinder]

Fritz,
Although I'm new to the FAOL BB, I must agree with Mr Castwell's comment about calling or eamiling Denny at Conranch. When I started tying Denny really helped me unravel the mystery of hooks and hackle. He is a great guy and a wealth of information, that and his hackle is the best you can get.

Tight Lines
Marcus

[J Castwell]

Just curious about the hackle quality issue. The number of little fuzzy thingies and the attributes of the quill (stem) are very important. Why settle for average when you can go all the way up to Conranch quality, for less money?

[krauseb]

Hareline has Wo0lly Bugger Saddles that I use, and haven't anything better for the money.

[MikelC]

I have been using Keogh Tyers Grade hackle for some time now. Not only is he local here in Michigan, but the quality is probalby equal to a grade 2 or 3, and the price is much less than the more known brands (think I paid $22 per cape ). For those of us that don't pump out mass quantities of flies, these are just the ticket.

[hap]

Hello, my name is Art and I am a Hacklaholic...

My hackle is kept in two huge zip-lock bags... The really huge ones... There are dozens of capes, more saddles than capes and several full skins (Denny's full skins). I have stuff from most major ranches and have examples spanning decades.



I still cannot walk through Sportsmans Warehouse without a glance at the hackle...

In the beginning a tier needs basic colors and a wide range of sizes. Only capes can get you there fast. Denny will split capes for you to double your color range. Bigger retailers do that also, but they choose the colors...

If I was starting over the first hackle I would get would be one of Denny's new cree color. It could likely be used on just about any fly pattern and be effective (Atherton anyone?).

After Denny's cree I think a White (old eyes) cape and then I would go nuts and start buying all over again! :blush:

Note in the picture that some capes have the "chickabou" attached. Denny leaves that on his capes for you and it is very useful stuff.
art