I have been having trouble finding some small saddle hackle. I like to tye and fish little wooley buggers tied on #12-#16 nymph hooks. Thanks
Try using the webby feathers on a dry saddle underneath the prime feathers.
I never could find any…thusly I resorted to buying the Whiting “100 packs” of the proper size and using those.
You don’t need a very long feather for those sizes. Have you tried using feathers from hen necks?
Or hen saddles; nice webby feathers for buggers.
Regards,
Scott
They make a wooly bugger saddle that will easily tie down to a 16. I bought one in black.
TB
Hi Terry,
Small bugger hackle is a problem. Most of the smallest bugger saddles I have seen are very marginal for tying #12s, let alone smaller.
You can use saddle hackle from dry fly saddles, but those have fairly stiff barbules, and do not have the movement of hen. Hen is much better, but the hen saddles I have are pretty big for little buggers.
The idea of using such as Whiting hen necks may be the best we can do. (These are the ones called Whiting “Winger” (or the like) capes that are very wet and webby type capes.) Many of the standard capes from major suppliers are from the hens of the dry fly stock, and these are very often not soft and webby.
These shorter hen cape feathers can be used by tying in a feather at the hook bend along with the chenille and wrapping the chenille forward only a few wraps, tie the chenille in place after the few wraps (but don’t cut it off) and then wrapping the hackle feather up to that spot and tie off. Tie in a second feather and wrap the chenille forward a bit further followed by wrapping the 2nd feather forward to cover that chenille.
Repeat the above until the bugger is completely hackled.
Another source of good bugger hackle in rather smaller sizes, as Cold mentioned above, is to use the under feathers from smaller sizes of dry fly saddles. Under the good dry fly hackle, there are sometimes soft webby feathers, sometimes a few anyway, that are good smaller bugger hackle.
When you buy a dry fly saddle from Metz, Whiting, Denny Conrad, or one of the others, try to get one that will tie smaller sizes, and check them out for the webby feathers deep in the saddle.
Regards,
Gandolf
Bass Pro shop carries them hen hackle necks that will tie from sizes 14 down to 18… I have a brown and a ginger in that i bought from there… In order to get them, you gotta be there at the rite time, as soon as they get a fly materials shippment in and the restock…
Denny at conranch can probably find an Juvenal hen that would give you what you need, I haven’t used the hen but the juvenile rooster is great.
http://www.conranch.com/jvhens.html
Eric
indian cock neck/cape perhaps?
Can you tell me where you bought it? Thanks
i have a couple of cabelas saddles, one black , one olive. they were about $22 each. ive been using them for the hackle on a ,“birds stone”, down to size 14, and they seem to work fine. ive been considreing getting a few more colors for tying wets. the hackle is a little stiffer than what i would prefer, but better than any alternatives ive come across.
Bill Keough has some excellent saddles, some of which will go down to 14 no problem. You should be able to get them via The Fly Shop (Redding, CA) or Cabelas (house brand I think). However, you will need to be able to inspect the saddle yourself or at least have someone knowledgeable pick it out of stock for you, so the Fly Shop is probably a better choice. Keough’s stuff is available all over, so if you look around a bit you might be able to find some locally. For smaller than 14, I use a Metz “Micro-barb” saddle or a Whiting hen cape.
I have used Denny’s Juvenille hens and they are likely great for what you want. If you talk to him he has some colors you won’t find very often. Kind of like “Be the first guy on your street to own a chocolate such and such”
Seafoam
JV Hen Hackle is the cats arse in my opinion. I just tied a few buggers and a dozen soft hackles this evening with that very product and they look great if I dont say so myself. Give him a call- you will be VERY happy. Take care and good luck on the water.
What both the other 2 above said, all you gotta do is ask him… Premium stuff, sounds like you have spent more shopping around and were unsatisfied. Been there, done that. Conranch is your solution. Be prepared to spend 10-15 minutes talking hackle, he knows his field inside and out and i like that
I fish Wooly Buggers in those sizes almost all the time - my favorite hackle for tying them is from Whiting Farms - it is the Herbert Miner hen necks - tons of feathers in the 12-16 count. I have not used any of Denny’s hackle so I can’t compare though.
Here is a photo of a Mini Bugger tied on a size 14, 2XL hook - the hackle is from a Dark Dun Herbert Miner neck:
Alberto
the conranch jv looks great!
,
aquabone.
I have trouble finding small saddles as well. Here’s how I solved the problem. Buy craft fur in the colors you need, and use it in a dubbing loop for the hackle. It works even better than feathers on small flies…
Take some pictures and fly of the week it, too great a tip to go away.
Eric