for a tying partridges do you use dry hackle or some kind of saddle hackle?
Deon
Deon,
A lot of folks use hungarian partridge feathers when tying soft hackles. Grouse and quail work pretty good as well. The small feathers on hen capes good also. I understand Conranch hen capes are superb for soft hackles. Good luck.
you use the appropriately sized feather from the back of the Hungarian partridge,
http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/3130.html
If I were starting out tying them I would get a full skin, to give you more size options, you can buy a bag of the feathers but to me it is like looking through a pillow to find a feather size when nature has sized them on the back of the bird for you.
If you just want to try some soft hackles you can use just about any bird feather of the appropriate size. chicken hen, starling, pigeon, etc have all been used. I really like the feathers of pheasant.
Eric
For Partridge’s I stick with either Hungarian, or Grouse. But any hackle can be substituted.
Indian Hen is probably the cheapest type of soft hackle. Great for many patterens. About $5 at most Fly shops for a hen back/neck.
http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/pc-3065-309-hen-back-patch.aspx
http://www.jannsnetcraft.com/wet-dry-necks-hackle/620443.aspx
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_3055_175004008_175000000_175004000_175-4-8 (apparently no picture on the web site)
Like qquals said, Partridge is a common. a pack of loose feathers are only about $2. A full skin is $25 to $30 average but if you’re tying a lot, much easier to deal with.
http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?id=0001100&navCount=1&parentId=cat20542&masterpathid=&navAction=push&cmCat=MainCatcat20431-cat20542&parentType=index&indexId=cat20542&rid=
http://www.madriveroutfitters.com/pc-3070-309-hungarian-partridge-skins.aspx
You can get a full hungarian partridge skin from here:
http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/3130.html
for $10-$12.50. I bought one recently, and was VERY pleased with the color & condition.
Well now, thanks for the info Dave! I was just able to order a Hungarian, sharptail & ruffed skin. Good prices! My hungarian has been pretty picked through, don’t have a sharptail, and I only have larger ruffed feathers remaining on that skin. Perfect timing!
Dang NJ, had I known you were going to be ordering, I would have had you pick me up a Silver Pheasant skin.
****And now back to our regular scheduled thread ****
The Hungarian Partridge is just hard to beat. It’s my favotire material for soft hackles and a lot of spider patterns.
I usually use Partridge or grouse, but I have used Indian Hen in the past. It works. I also use CDC sometimes.
Sorry BB…had I known?..
I use indian hen patches quite a bit. But still can’t get by without many of the game bird hackle. I also use alot of hen pheasant.
I was looking REALLY HARD at those grouse skins…Let me know how they look when they come in!
DO NOT BUY BAGGED LOOSE FEATHERS!! I got one years ago and never used more than 10 feathers in it…too hard to size. Buy the skin, Deon, you won’t be sorry, like you will if you buy the bag.
Hi Deon,
For small flies starling is great. Has lots of small feathers on a skin, and the stems wrap well. You can often buy a skin fairly cheaply.
Regards,
Gandolf
Skins came in and were here when I got home this evening. Very nice! All 3 in great condition. I really like the looks of the Sharp-tailed…never used it before. The Ruffed has some excellent hackle on it…nice skin. Hungarian is very very nice. All well worth the price! I appreciate the tip for sure. Thanks again, Ralph
+1
maodiver knows what’s up! 
X3. The small bags are like floor sweepings. Buy the skin
THIS is really cool site! Thanks for the link!!!
I like the Partridge aswell for traditional Spiders. For the rest of my Soft Hackle/Flymph needs, Whiting hen capes are tough to beat. I use them in Brown, Dun, Black, and Brahma. Once wet the barbules collapse perfectly around the body of the fly. With each cape you can tie Wets in sizes 8 to 22’s, and usually get two to three flys from one feather. In my opinion they are that good. $20.00 gets you one cape.
I’ve done soft hackles with almost partridge, quail, woodcock, starling, pheasant, crow, hen chicken, but also I’ve played with a few synthetics as well with good effect. I’m working on a boa yarn soft hackle that’s showing some real promise. As long as you can keep it sparse and it moves well in the water, it’s fair game for soft hackles as far as I’m concerned.