I am wanting to buy some hackle for small woolly buggers. I have plenty of dry fly saddles in the right sizes (#12 to #16), but the hackle is very stiff, and really soft hackle is what I want.
In short, hen capes seem the way to go, but I am uncertain what to get. A friend bought a Metz cape, but it is almost dry fly quality. I know that Whiting has hen capes that have fairly long feathers, that are specifically made for wings and soft hackle.
Does anyone know about the various brands of hen necks, and which have the best combination of very soft hackle, long strong stems, and sizes 12 to 16?
Is there a cabela’s near you? If so , they have hackles there that are softer then some of the name brands out there. I have one of theirs in black, and it works preatty good for buggers. I tie black buggers in a size 14 with a black bead head for trout around here, they seem to like them little guys! Hope this helps a little,Dave
Whiting’s Hens are great for small buggers, but they also have Bugger packs. It is parts of rooster capes but it is very very soft. Also their American line of birds have fairly soft hackle on the roosters. I use mostly bugger packs because I like the action of soft rooster.
Joe Fox
Prvious post mentioned two good sources, Conranch JV Hen works very well as does Whiting Hen. Personally I prefer Conranch (best stem quality), but will also Whiting since I still have some left. As for the American Hen line by Whiting, there are some wonderful colors, but I dont like the stem quality.
If I had my choice…go with Conranch, you wont be disappointed.
If you want to tie buggers size 16 or smaller, look at ostrich herl instead of hackle. I like to see it before I buy it so that I can see the length of the barbules, but I am lucky in having several fly shops within easy driving distance. Consider counter-wrapping wire over ostrich herl to protect it. Bream chew can chew it to pieces.
