Hackles

Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo

raven4ns
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:45 am
Location: Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Contact:

Re: Hackles

Post by raven4ns » Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:20 pm

I honestly can't ever remember finding a deal on anything especially fishing. Because of my trip next year, the 2 new rods as well as other things, I'm trying to keep a handle on my costs. As much as I would like to have a new cane rod, it's not likely to happen next year( so many new toys, so little money)....lol.
All the best,

Tim
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44673530@N04/
The measure of a man is not how many times he gets knocked down, but how many times he gets back up.
User avatar
William Anderson
Site Admin
Posts: 4569
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2009 3:14 pm
Location: Ashburn, VA 20148
Contact:

Re: Hackles

Post by William Anderson » Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:45 pm

Tim, it's hard to imagine not having a selection of skins to thumb through when designing a pattern. There's something great about the trailer and webbiness of some feathers and I seen to love them all. For spiders I especially like partridge and grouse but for flymphs the hen hackles give you more length to slightly palmer the hackle through the thorax. What you're really looking for is a density from the webbiness in only a couple turns and lots of mobility. Color and mottling are factors. Good luck and enjoy your search.

Second fiddle, my ass. :lol:
"A man should not try to eliminate his complexes, but rather come into accord with them. They are ultimately what directs his conduct in the world." Sigmund Freud.
www.WilliamsFavorite.com
raven4ns
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:45 am
Location: Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Contact:

Re: Hackles

Post by raven4ns » Thu Nov 27, 2014 3:17 pm

Lol

Second fiddle, my ass. :lol:[/quote]
All the best,

Tim
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44673530@N04/
The measure of a man is not how many times he gets knocked down, but how many times he gets back up.
Mataura mayfly
Posts: 3648
Joined: Thu Oct 27, 2011 6:28 am
Location: Southland, South Island, New Zealand.

Re: Hackles

Post by Mataura mayfly » Thu Nov 27, 2014 3:50 pm

raven4ns wrote:I honestly can't ever remember finding a deal on anything especially fishing. Because of my trip next year, the 2 new rods as well as other things, I'm trying to keep a handle on my costs. As much as I would like to have a new cane rod, it's not likely to happen next year( so many new toys, so little money)....lol.
Christmas is coming, make a list for "Santa" made up of capes, feathers and skins. ;)
Better to get stuff you want and will use than another neck tie or pair of socks.

Second fiddle? Remember a soft hackle makes a pretty damn good semi-dry, but a good dry fly seldom makes a good soft hackle. ;)
"Listen to the sound of the river and you will get a trout".... Irish proverb.
fflutterffly
Posts: 1161
Joined: Sun Jan 24, 2010 12:24 pm
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Re: Hackles

Post by fflutterffly » Thu Nov 27, 2014 4:41 pm

has anyone used sky rats? That's pigeons to most of you.
"Every day a Victory, Every year a Triumph" Dan Levin (My Father)
User avatar
hankaye
Posts: 6582
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:59 pm
Location: Arrey, N.M. aka 32°52'37.63"N, 107°18'54.18"W

Re: Hackles

Post by hankaye » Thu Nov 27, 2014 10:36 pm

fflutterffly, Howdy;
fflutterffly wrote:has anyone used sky rats? That's pigeons to most of you.
Strange you should ask ... http://flymphforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=5942

hank
Striving for a less complicated life since 1949...
"Every day I beat my own previous record for number
of consecutive days I've stayed alive." George Carlin
User avatar
gingerdun
Posts: 1658
Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:00 pm
Location: Merrimac, Massachusetts

Re: Hackles

Post by gingerdun » Fri Nov 28, 2014 9:37 am

Tim,
As I am among the least experienced fishermen on the forum, nothing I say should be taken very seriously. However, I do have a little partridge v hen experiment to report. Some of my friends have already heard/seen this, so I apologize for the repetition.

This June on the Madison for two weeks I sometimes fished several plain flymph patterns that had identical bodies, differing only in that one had partridge hackle and the other hen. The partridge consistently caught fish, while the hens were less reliable.

Image

These were the flies that worked best for me. And, as you can see, I was not fussy about matching hackle size to hook size. The fish didn't seem to care. Not only that, I used more wraps that I'm supposed to. But the trout teeth thinned them out fast enough.
raven4ns
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:45 am
Location: Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Contact:

Re: Hackles

Post by raven4ns » Fri Nov 28, 2014 10:48 am

Thank you, Lance, that is interesting. I wouldn't have thought it would have made a difference but perhaps it's the mottling of the partridge. Thank you for sharing that with me, I appreciate it.
All the best,

Tim
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44673530@N04/
The measure of a man is not how many times he gets knocked down, but how many times he gets back up.
raven4ns
Posts: 322
Joined: Sun Mar 31, 2013 11:45 am
Location: Dartmouth, NS, Canada
Contact:

Re: Hackles

Post by raven4ns » Fri Nov 28, 2014 11:06 am

Hello,
In Nova Scotia we have Hungarian partridge and Spruce partridge as far as I know. It has been eons since I last hunted and that was deer and ducks. Do many of you use Grouse feathers to tie SH flies?
Where do most of you buy game bird pelts, I was thinking about the full hide? Thank you.
All the best,

Tim
https://www.flickr.com/photos/44673530@N04/
The measure of a man is not how many times he gets knocked down, but how many times he gets back up.
User avatar
Eric Peper
Posts: 244
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2009 5:28 pm
Location: Austin, TX and Island Park, ID

Re: Hackles

Post by Eric Peper » Fri Nov 28, 2014 5:00 pm

Ruffed grouse shoulder coverts are wonderful feathers, and the color/marking can vary substantially from bird to bird. Actually, I've yet to find a game bird of any species that doesn't provide some good softhackle materials. Blue Ribbon Flies is one source of gamebird pelts that I use regularly. I believe Great Feathers handles a food variety as well.

Eric
A mountain is a fact -- a trout is a moment of beauty known only to men who seek them.
Al McClane in his Introduction to The Practical Fly Fisherman . . . often erroneously attributed to Arnold Gingrich
Post Reply