Rene, that is a loaded, complex question. I'll get the ball rolling for you.
Hackle preference is always the perfect hackle for the perfect fly. Then go from there. How many kinds of feather flies are there? How many kinds of hackles are there? Now match them. How many flies do you need to tie, of which size, of which colors? Hackle selection can be for perfection, mass quantities, make-do, creative designing, or whatever. Necks are the best way to go for variety of sizes and types of flies, and saddles are the way to go for large quantities of similar sized hackled flies. Cheaper non-genetic necks are great for bass-bugs and saltwater flies, whereas dry flies require more exacting qualities, best produced by genetic engineering. Your budget comes into play, as does your style of tying. For myself, being weird as I am, I just collect hackles to look at them. Don't tie much. DonO ----- Original Message ----- From: Rene Zillmann <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, June 11, 2002 3:02 PM Subject: [VFB] Hackle > Hi List, > > back to ff-topics. > > I'm wondering what your preferred hackle are. I'm not thinking too much on > brands - although we can discuss this too. Do you tie more with genetic > hackle or do you prefer the regular chicken (indian hackle, if it translates > correct), do you tie with necks or with saddles? Advantages, disadvantages. > > I myself currently move from saddles to necks. Not because of the quality of > the single feather. The necks offer a larger variety of different sizes. The > saddles seams to have a really nearrow bandwith. Some years ago I was > searching for hackle on my saddles which are small enough, today I find > usually feather which are too small for my flies. And I still tie most of my > fishing flies in the 12 to 16 range. > > Good night, dear list - it's bedtime over here. > > Rene > > > > >
