has anybody tried these and how are they. i want to buy some for size 16. also i was wondering if the Cabelas micro packs by Metz were the same or better. in the cabelas catalog they look similar and are a little cheaper. i don’t have much to spend and cant afford full or even 1/4 saddles now.
Thanks
Warm Water
I use them a lot, esp. for some styles of flies that I tend to tie in specific size. Good quality hackle that I have come to expect from Whiting. I find the sizing runs a little big, for example a size 16 is more like a 14 for the tying I do.
I like a heavy hackled fly for most of my fishing, so I’m not getting the ‘100 flies’ per pack, I tend to get 3-4 flies per feather. Still a good number of bugs for $14 worth of feathers.
The Metz pre-sized hackles are a good bargain as well and you will get a wider range of sizes. These are packages of neck hackles sized small, med, large. You get a strip from three necks, in a variety of colors.
Best thing since sliced bread IMHO. I use them a LOT and have them in lots of sizes and colors. The quality is excellent and if you tie palmered flies you will LOVE them. You don’t even need hackle pliers until the feather gets short.
Kengore is right about the sizes. I also use one size smaller than the stated package size but that’s just a personal preference. There is also sometimes a variation in barb length along the length of a single feather too. A hackle gauge is a help at times since you can slide the saddle along the gauge to see if there is any variation.
Do some shopping for them too. The smaller sizes are the most expensive but I’ve found sizes 12-16 as low as $10.
The Whiting Hebert Pro grade capes are a much better deal, $22 per cape and you get more flies out of it then any 2 100’s packs.
Joe Fox
guess i’ll be needing sizes 18 and 20. i just bought 100 mustad barbless dry fly hooks for .99 cents plus 2.99 shipping. Much better price than the normal 11.49 i’ve seen.
Warm Water
They are great and they are all the right size, but they are a bit on the pricy side for what you get. If you can afford a little more get the 1/4 to 1/2 capes(the good ones)
If you can afford the few dollars at a time for the 100’s, then I say go for it. They are great.
Perfect for those smaller flies, bigger flies I would look for something else (less expensive) however.
I have question related to this topic. WWFF I apologize for hijacking your thread but maybe this will help you too:
If you were to tie 90% of your flies in 1-2 sizes, would you buy necks or 100 Packs? I have tons of necks that are stripped clean of the smaller feathers but full of the size 14+. I’ve never found a neck that can tie as many flies of the same size as a 100 Pack so that’s why I use them.
Don’t forget, you are paying for sizing with the 100 Packs so you don’t have to do it yourself; that’s some of the cost. I have some of the Whiting Saddle patches too but I spend more time sizing than tying flies. I find it a lot harder to size saddle hackle than neck hackle.
Good point Bamboozle, but that is where you DO have to look for quality, that is why I mentioned the 1/4.
I am luckier than most that my supplier goes to Whiting and gets the best and for $45 I get a 1/4 that I could probably make 10 to 15 of 100’s packages (generous ones also) plus several other sizes. Like I said you have to look for them.
Don’t get me wrong, I have bout hundreds of 100’s :lol: :lol:
i prefer what ever is cheapest but still works well, like i said i have limited money
Warm Water
this sounds like sommething to remember for a Christmas wish list 8)
Warm Water
I’d prefer that my “Mrs.Claus” not get to good of a grasp on what this hobby costs. Trying to explain my need for a $200 fly rod is hard enough, but $22 feathers just ain;t gonna fly.
WWFF:
Check out [url=http://www.linesend.com/product/whiting_coop.shtml:4eaa1]Lines End[/url:4eaa1] and their Whiting Co-op. It is a pretty good deal if you can justify the expense.
BTW also check out the [url=http://www.linesend.com/product/bargain_bin_2.shtml:4eaa1]Bargin Bin.[/url:4eaa1] While these may not be the colors you are looking for, $7.00 for a 100 Pack is a great deal and Lines End is great to deal with.
Here’s something to consider . Hebert Pro Grade Saddles. For $15.00 you get the whole saddle so you get dry fly hackle and bugger hackle as well. Size 16 is not uncommon with these saddles.You will be able to tie way over 200 flies with these pelts. When you go to purchase them , just tell the dealer what sizes you need and he should accomodate your request.
The Whiting 100 packs are useful for picking up the oddball sizes or colours that you very rarely use or for those folks who are just getting into tying flies and want to use the proper sized hackle for their flies.
That being said i have to agree with Jim Slattery on the value of the Hebert saddles, they are an excellent way to get great hackle with very little expense.
That’s what I’m talking about 
what is the approx size range of hackle on one of the Hebert Saddles?
Order them from Jim Slattery and he will pick out the sizes range you are looking for.
Joe Fox
Actually Joe, any shop that cares about customer service at all will pick out to the best of their abilities the materials within the specs the customer prefers. That is if the customer actually states what their preference is, ie hackle in the larger sizes, extra webby wet fly hackle, width on duck or goose quills, etc, etc
Most of the Hebert saddles i have here in the shop will tie between a 10 and a 18 with most of the hackle being 12’s & 14’s.
I like Whiting 100s. I like the Cabelas Metz packs. Note that of the Metz packs that I have gotten from Cabelas, the size varies a great deal. The feathers in my “size 16 and under” will tye flies that small. But I have also tied some really nice size 12s with them. These packs are cut from capes. There is more variation within a feather from a cape than from a saddle, usually. (Apply the caveats of modern breeding etc…) The butt of a feather might tye a size 12 while the tip is a nice 16 or 18. Some of the feathers from my packs can tye down to size 20 or smaller. I have a variety of capes and saddles from a variety of sources. The micro-sized Metz packs that Cabelas sells are a valued part of my supply. So are the Whiting 100’s and saddles. To tye a variety of sizes and colors, I would probably get the smallest-sized Metz pack from Cabelas since it will provide the greatest range of sizes over whatever 3 colors are in the pack that you choose.
Another thing about the Metz packs is that it is more efficient, for me, to start tying larger flies to use up the butts of the feathers and then I progress to the smaller sizes as I work down the feathers and also have warmed up my eyes and fingers. Get some small, ziplock bags (from Michaels, the grocery store, etc…) to keep the left-over feather tips in. That way you can better preserve the smaller and more valuable sizes of feather between tying sessions.
Happy Tying!
Ed