I used to like Denny Conrad's hackle, not sure if the company he sold to is doing the same quality - just haven't looked into it, honestly. I recently got two capes and two saddles from Collins Hackle farms, grade 3 but ties 10 to 18 for capes and 12 to 16s for saddle, the whole lot of it, all 4 items, were 60 bucks (plus whatever trivial amount postage was). A note, though, he doesn't wash the feathers. He claims it retains the oils, which is good, true, but it also doesn't clean off the, well pardon my language but, chicken umm "waste". I think that's the most politically correct way to word it? Excellent, beautiful colors, high barb count, sturdy yet thin stemmed, some of the best hackle I've worked with honestly. Can't praise his hackle enough. When I went to order, I called him, spoke to him personally, had all intentions of buying a grade 1, he said don't waste your money get 2 grade 3's, they'll tie the sizes I want in the same quality, I just won't get 20s and smaller. He helped me select the color, asked what look I wanted for the flies, etc, gave me some background on the hackle itself - very knowledgeable guy, willing to share but isn't cocky or shoving info down your throat or a "used car salesman" type. Honest guy, wanting to please his customer. I couldn't praise him more, and will be back as soon as I save up (admittedly will be a while) for another cape-and-free-saddle combo. Just my 2 cents worth, I'm sure there are plenty of other fine hackle suppliers out there but Collins is my new personal favorite. -Pete
On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 10:49 AM, Joyce M Westphal <joyce...@gmail.com> wrote: > Thanks for your reply. I will no longer buy any hackle I can't hold in my > hand and see with my own eyes. > > On Sun, Jul 3, 2016 at 8:25 AM, J Balmer <jbal...@betadigm.com> wrote: > >> I can’t answer that question, but because of a couple issues in the past >> (& the fact that I only tie for me, two or three friends & the occasional >> swap) I only buy what I can hold in my hand or from people I truly trust. >> >> >> >> J >> >> >> >> *From:* vfb-mail@googlegroups.com [mailto:vfb-mail@googlegroups.com] *On >> Behalf Of *Joyce M Westphal >> *Sent:* Sunday, July 3, 2016 8:14 AM >> *To:* vfb-mail@googlegroups.com >> *Subject:* [VFB] re: Whiting hackle bad colors >> >> >> >> I just got an order of Whiting rooster saddles from Lakeland Flytying in >> the UK> These were to be black/claret dyed, fiery brown and lake olive. I >> was amazed at how bad the colors were. The black claret has no claret, just >> straight purple on the black. The fiery brown has no brown, rather a >> red/orange color, and the lake olive is yellow gold, no green in the mix. I >> have compared this hackle color with the same hackle colors that I had on >> thiss colored hackle from Whiting before, This dye job must have been done >> by someone who is color blind. I am wondering, does Whiting do the dying >> or is this bad color job done by Lakeland flytying? I would appreciate any >> input at all. This has really put me off on Whiting dyed rooster saddles. >> Joyce >> >> -- >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" >> group. >> >> To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en >> >> VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VFB Mail" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> >> -- >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" >> group. >> >> To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en >> >> VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "VFB Mail" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" > group. > > To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en > > VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "VFB Mail" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the "VFB Mail" group. To post to this group, send email to vfb-mail@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to vfb-mail-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/vfb-mail?hl=en VFB Mail is sponsored by Line's End Inc at http://www.linesend.com --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VFB Mail" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to vfb-mail+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
