Anyone have a recommendation on a hackle gauge? They do seem to vary greatly , not only in price , but in measurement. From the few I have tried one make call a hackle a #12 and the next maybe calling it somwhere between a #14 and #16. I understand proper dry fly proportions and these do not seem to measure up.
Part of the problem may be that different hook companies have different gaps for “standard” hooks. I have no Idea for a hackle gauge, I will watch this thread with interest as I could use one also.
Eric
I use a Griffin Hackle gauge and am pleased with it.
It mounts on the vise and can be pushed out of the way when not in use. It’s convenient and inexpensive. I think fairly accurate.
I just do a test wrap and see how it matches the hook gap. With parachutes (i tie LOTS of them) it does not matter as much just get it close.
Nick
I use one of these too. Slides on the post of your vise, Spin around out of the way when not in use. I use mine alot.
I use the Griffin as well…it’s accurate enough for me…
However, if you are concerned about ‘accuracy’ it’s not hard to make one that’s ‘exactly’ what YOU consider ‘accurate’ (it does vary a bit).
A. K. Best in his amazing work ‘PRODUCTION FLY TYING’ shows how to easily make one that meets your own requirements…
I made several, for different applications, and it didn’t take more than few minutes to create each one.
Buddy
I have the one from hook and hackle. It also slides over the post, and has a hook gauge as well. Works fine for me, but I’m not a professional tyer by any means.
I used to have the Griffin one on my vice but as time passed I just use the hook gap as a guide. After you tie a few hundred or a few thousand flies you instinctivly know what feathers to pluck. It’s like a mechanic can look at a bolt head and tell you what size it is. With all the hook variations out there you can just stick with the 1x to 1 1/2x the hook gap.
Jeff
3x5 index card. Line up the hook YOU use on the edge and draw a line where you want the hackle to come (1.5x gap, 2x gap, whatever). You can write above the line what hook size the line represents. Go along the edge of the card for each size hook (10, 12, 14, 16, etc)
If you use different brand hooks you can have a different card for each brand if you want.
When you want to pick a hackle, take the card and slide it between the barbs with the edge of the card against the hackle stem to measure prior to pulling out the feather.
While I may or may not agree with the “sizing” on any and all hackle gauges, I do use one.
It really doesn’t matter to me if the gauge says the hackle I plan to use on a size 16 hook measured as a size 18 hackle, what matters is that it is sized fast and easy and I can project up or down to the next hook size with ease.
That being said I think that even though it is pricey, the Whiting hackle gauge is the best for several reasons:
[ul]Because it is thin, with the aid of an O-ring it sits on the stem on a slant which makes it very easy to use. Of course you can swing it out of the way when not needed[/ul]
[ul]It is well made of anodized aluminum and has no labels to peel off.[/ul]
[ul]The pin that you bend the hackle around has a head on it that helps keep the hackle from slipping off while you size it.[/ul]
[ul]It comes in different colors which is a nice feature for contrast and the fashion conscious.[/ul]
[ul]It uses thick sizing lines rather than thin lines which gives you a range within a given size, and it has both white and colored markings so you can have contrast depending on the hackle color you are using.[/ul]
[ul]With a little effort you can open a bottle of beer with it ;)[/ul]
A second choice, although I don’t know if they still make them is the Metz hackle gauge. It is round and aluminum and also fits on the stem on a slant which makes it very easy to use.
I probably should not respond to this question because I hardly ever fish dry flies and therefore, do not tie them but I do like to use hackle that is close to the right size even on my nymph patterns and streamers. During tying the pattern I will hold the hackle under the hook shank and lift it up and guage it with my eye as to whether it is gap length or 1 1/2 gap length. I tie mostly my my eye as to whether the hackle is the right size by the pattern having the eye appeal of porportions. I do have a hackle guage on the shaft of my vise, but, hardly ever use it. One must understand that the hackle on the guage may read it to be a size 12, but, if there is any material on the hook shank such as dubbing, the hackle will be pushed out past the size 12 and may be too long. Most if not all dry fly patterns have the hackle wrapped/palmered on the hook shank and this would not present a problem, but, on nymphs or streamers, the hackle is wrapped/palmered over a body and one must eye ball the hackle to get the “right” size so the pattern is porportional.
I hope the above makes sense and is only my style/opinion on tying…
My eye has never been trained to the point that I can just bend a feather over my finger and discern the exact, correct hackle size. I used a Herter’s gage for years since it came with my fly tying kit and later switched to a $3-4 Hook and Hackle gage. It’s still very serviceable and I have it installed on my knock-off tying vise. Like Bamboozle, I took the $18 leap and bought a Whiting gage. The Whiting gage is very nice too. It’s very easy to read and gives you a size range for each hook size. I like the Whiting gage but would probably recommend the H&H gage to a newbie. The $15 difference could be better spent on materials or other equipment. 8T 
I use a whiting Hackle Gauge. I do tye classic Catskill Dries and the size of the hackle does matter to me. If your just tying dry flies and do not care if proportions are correct like on the Catskill fly, then almost any off the shelf hackle Gauge is fine. I am a wet fly tyer and do tye Catskill style dry flies and I want them to be as accurate as they can be in proportions. One post stated that if you tye a ton of them, after awhile you can just eye ball the size of the hackle up. I find this statement to be so true and is actually good advise. But you have to have an idea where to start and that’s what the guage helps people to do.
The link below has the most useful set of gauges I’ve every had the opportunity to use.
Cut and paste them into a word document, print, and then laminate. They work great for dries, wets, streamers, all sorts of stuff. I found the price to be right also!
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/fotw2/112904fotw.php
Here’s my hackle gauge. Cost $9.99. It’s a 6 inch caliper. To use it:
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measure the gape of the hook
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multiply that value by 1.5 or whatever your favorite is between 1.5 and 2 and open the caliper to that value.
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fold the hackle over the leg of the caliper and match the size you want.
The tool has many more uses in fly fishing and I would recommend one for your box.
This tiny piece of information from Warren is extremely important to consider, especially if you tie flies with palmered hackle.
It is why I measure my hackle twice. I get my FIRST fly to the point of needing hackle and use the gauge to make a rough choice from the cape and then I measure it against the fly in progress. If it is the right size, I make a mental note of what size the gauge “said”, not caring particularly what size hook it says it should jive with.
After that all of the rest of the hackle I pluck is that size.
Exactly what I mentioned earlier - I just didn’t have a link to it. Nicest thing is that if you find different brand hooks to be a little different in your gape you can tailor the gauge to each brand.
I was given a Griffin hackle gauge which has been really good for me, as I tend to over estimate the size of the gap when measuring by the feather alone. I am still not adept at calculating them yet.
It is a good gauge for me and I would recommend as a starting point to anyone. A good thread guys - thanks for the info.
Jeanne
If you use Whiting Farms feathers, they make their own gauge. I simply hold the feather up to the hook to check the hackle length versus gap, but I also have the hook and hackle one and that one works fine for me. It is very inexpensive.
I want to thank everyone for all the excellent information provided. Jay (Trout 5 Jay 0)