After Peter Frailey’s fly of the week, I located some of the other tying he’s done and became intrigued by the baby buggers.
Sometimes he recommends Rooster Neck Hackle and sometimes Hen Neck Hackle. That would be the same thing as Saddle Hackle – yes? But Rooster Saddle is a dry fly hackle, and I would think it would be a bit stiff for a baby bugger.
Woolly bugger saddle is definitely too big for baby buggers.
If you have thoughts on this, I would appreciate sharing them. Thanks!
Nope…roosters and hens (pullets) both proved neck (from back of head, down between the wings) and saddle (from just above the tail) hackles. Typically pullets provide shorter, webbier hackles.
Hi BigFlatBrook,
I am not sure where I mentioned rooster neck hackle for buggers. If I did, that is a mistake. For baby buggers my first choice is hen neck feathers (Hen saddle feathers are too short IMO). For the Hare & Herl Bugger (size 14) I even strip off one side of the feather to reduce the number of barbs by 1/2. I prefer Whiting Hen necks because they are longer than the others I have.
My second choice is rooster saddle feathers. I use #2 Metz saddles which are not too expensive ($12-$15) and some of these feathers can be used for dry flies but most are too webby for that. The more expensive rooster saddles are likely to have a greater proportion of feathers that can be used for dry flies.
Hope that helps.
Didn’t expect a response from the author, although Hans W. often replies here. I’m getting used to that, though.
Admittedly, I was confusing the different types of hackle, and probably didn’t read as carefully as I should have. But the recipe for the dubbed buggers on the globalflyfisher article is as follows (I copied and then added a few EOLs for readability):
Hook: Size 10 - 16, 2xl or 3xl
Thread: 3/0 Danville (6/0 Danville for size 16)
Weight: 8-12 wraps of thin lead wire and/or beadhead
Tail: Clump of rabbit or other fur. Zonker strips of rabbit fur are available in many colors.
Body: Fur dubbing
Hackles: One or more hen or rooster neck feathers, depending on the length of the feathers or the effect desired. On each of the samples shown here I stripped one side of the feather before wrapping for a softer appearance.
That’s where I got the idea about rooster neck feathers. No matter, I think they’re very inventive (the FOTW also) and want to try them out. I asked partly because I don’t have the hackle I’d like to use for those buggers.
Thanks for your reply and articles! Oh yeah, that does help.
Best,
[This message has been edited by BigFlatBrook (edited 04 May 2005).]
Whoops, sorry 'bout that. Like most folks I save my rooster neck feathers for dries; although there are a lot of very webby hackles in the back of a rooster neck that are good for various sub-surface flies.
Peter
Well, actually I learned something. And it’s always a good day when I learn something. I know you were referring to the webby hackles. It’s just that I didn’t know enough to get it. Oh well, I do now.
Best!
Hi BigFlatBrook,
You might try Whitings Bugger Capes. They have a pretty good range of sizes and the feather barbs are far from stiff. Take care & …
Tight Lines - Al Beatty [url=http://www.btsflyfishing.com:7b58c]www.btsflyfishing.com[/url:7b58c]
Thank you. I will look into Whiting Bugger capes. I’m tying on a Danvise, by the way, and have your video. 