Hello,
I am trying to tie up some baby buggers but can’t get the hackle size correct. Can you give me some idea what you use for hackle on a size 14 bugger. The wooly bugger packs of hackle I get are too big. I thought about using a dubbing loop, and dubbing the body, then teasing out the fibers to produce the motion that the hackle produces. I have also thought about tying in a collar of partridge. much like a soft hackle fly. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
steve
Angora or African goat maybe blended with a little SLF works well. Tie it very sparsley in a dubbing loop and you’ve basically got a Hale-Bopp leach. You can also add the partridge collar. If you want a hackle you might look for a lower grade rooster saddle.
you might try a simi seal leech.
I’ve been using Orvis’ badger necks for my smaller hackles and it works great. There are lots of small feathers in there. I got lucky and scored several of them off ebay for next to nothing rather than paying $30 a piece.
You might find that Whiting HEN neck hackles will please you. I like their somwwhat longer quills than Metz for the same barb length. This means I won’t come up short when Palmer winding them on. Baby Buggers, a la Peter Frailey, are great.
Given the fact that Conranch capes and saddles are on sale now…would they be a consideration?
Steve,
All I can say is that an olive body and a yellow tail works good on Small mouth bass!!! 
I had to trim my hackle down to size.
I will have to try to tease out the dubbing like you say.
Good luck,
Puffer
I tie my small buggers using feathers from Bronze grade Whiting saddles. In a pinch I use anything I have, since most of my necks and saddles will last me a lifetime anyhow ( I’m a low volume tyer). I found that the fish don’t really care what I use, so I also stopped being finicky. :lol: :lol:
Joe
Joe, the fish told me that if you used the “correct” hackle you would have caught more of them than even you knew 
:idea:
I also like Whiting’s Hen Cape. I have tied a lot of size 12 and 14 buggers with a grizzly cape and done very very well with them. You might want to try Olive Ice Dub as a body with a dubbing loop. Makes for a very good looking and productive fly. Although I havent tried any Conranch JV Hens or Hens, these might also work.
I usually use either a dry fly saddle hackle or ostrich herl. Sometimes I counter-wrap the ostrich herl with UTC Ultra Wire. Occasionally I use something like peacock herl. Mine are a mix of weighted and unweighted. The bodies range from various types of floss to micro chenille, dubbed bodies, and even peacock herl. It depends on the size of the flies and the herl. I tie mine down to size 16. Sometimes the tail is marabou. Sometimes it is rabbit fur.
Ed
Another vote for the Whiting Hen Capes for hackling small woolly buggers. An added benefit when using the grizzly is that you can get the hackle tips for winging your Adams and still have enough feather length for hackling the buggers.
The best solution is buy a Whiting “100” pack material for at least 100 flies and it comes in size 12 14 16 18 and 20’s BILL
Bill Fitzgerald - If you try the softer hen hackles you’ll find they flow back more seductively (?) than the more stiff dry fly feathers, especially if you use them oversized…
Ed: thanks for reminding me about size 16 buggers, I need to tie some up now since I got out on the river and wished I had some :lol: . I now know what I will be doing tonite for a while.
I also have found that chickabou makes for very nice tail, forgot to add that I use them in all my buggers size 12 and smaller.
For me, the dry fly hackles are too stiff to use on buggers. It doesn’t seem to undulate in the water very much. I prefer softer and cheaper options for the small buggers like cheap chinese capes.
I use Conranch hen hackle. It works great and is a dream to tie with.
Adam
Joe, the fish told me that if you used the “correct” hackle you would have caught more of them than even you knew :idea:[/quote]
OUCH! I hate it when my cheapness is challenged. Score one point for your team. :lol: :lol:
Joe
Wow, some good tips here for one of my all time favorite buggers. I use them in warmwater, and they are excellent for all species. Definitely got a couple of good ideas here to improve my ties!
lower grade, inexpesive (at least relatively) capes and saddles often tend to be webbier than their high grade cousins. Bad for the dry fly tyer, but good for the guy looking for small wooly bugger hackle. The only drawback is that the small feathers on the capes can also be a bit on the short side and thus a wee bit harder to work with. Gives me a way to use up the hackle I bought when I was young and foolish and/or poor and had to settle for what I could afford 