Was sent out in the snow to get the mail a few minutes ago. Didn't think all the hackles were back to Byard but swaps 3 & 4 were in my mailbox. Comparing these to my sweet collection of Hoffmans, I see an improvement in the barb count and a unique size variance in the midge saddles. Now, I had a source of Hoffmans which were of the best quality and could pick my size but Fred Reese retired and as he did, Byard opened shop. My take on the Whiting versus Hoffman quality? They are both damned good with the Whiting showing improvements in breeding. The unique variants are quite interesting and some of group 4 might end up in the midge group once I look closer. Whatever any of you get, you'll enjoy tying with these. Heck, I didn't even need more hackle but its like you can never have enough rods. But I do intend to use up my size 28-22 hooks soon. When is the next hook sale Byard?
Finally a reason to try that 8x tippet... Murf
