The advancement in genetic dry fly hackles in the past years has been great but it has come at a cost.
Good quality feathers for streamer flies are nearly impossible to find. The feathers on good necks are too long and narrow (they are for dries) and hen feathers are too blunt and all web ( they are for soft hackles) I fear the genetic pendulum has swung too far.
I think it was Aristotle who first said, “Moderation in all things”. It is a very good rule to live by and I believe it applies in this instance. It’s going to be funny when people have to “back breed” their birds to get good streamer feathers and then they’ll charge as much or more than they do for top quality dry fly necks;)
Jim Smith
Hugh Spencer up in Montana grew some great streamer roosters. If you can find any of his saddles, they work very well for buggers and the like.
PS: there is no shortage of non-super-genetic-fly-tying roosters in the world, but you gotta find a barnyard first.
Whiting Farms and and Ewing Feather Birds both have feathers that are excellent for streamers. From Whiting Farms look for American Hackle (necks and saddles with wider feathers with more web that are unsuitable for dry flies) and their “streamer” and “bugger” packs. From Ewing Feather Birds, look for their saltwater capes and necks and their “deciever” packs
Hi,
I’ve found Chinese necks to be great for streamers. And, they are also inexpensive and you can get them in a variety of feather styles. Mind you, I tend to tie relatively small streamers, on size 10 2x length hooks.
I have found it much harder to find “chinese” necks the last few years. The Whiting Farms and Ewing feathers have thinner and more flexible quills, though they do cost quite a bit more - about 2 to 4 times as much in the USA.
as opposed to where??
Jeff is in New Zealand. The products I mentioned, if available outside the USA, may be more expensive due to tariffs, duties, import taxes, etc. This was the case when I was in Australia a couple of years ago when many of the products I looked at in shops were nearly twice the cost back home.
Yep. I use Chinese necks as well. You can find them on EBay.
fearther dusters… 
true story
Thanks for the accurate suggestion. The lower cost Whiting AMERICAN rooster capes have very nice streamer feathers.
Thanks again guys.
Some of the tiers’ grade Keough necks have feathers good for streamers. Most of the time for decievers and bigger streamers I just use strung Chinese rooster feathers.
aa