Hackle color

[Rory McMahon]

How important is the hackle color, if i used grizzly hackle when it said to use brown hackle, how much of a difference would it make?

[crobarr]

i'm lazy, and i don't feel the need to buy every color neck/saddle that there is. i have cream, brown, black, and grizzly dry fly saddles. unless i'm tying a fly that is predominantly dark/light i don't worry about it and just grab whatever is closest, or what i have a piece of sitting on the desk. i don't think it really matters all that much, at least where i fish (n. oregon coast- cut throats). i pay attention more to the color of the materials on sunken flies more, since the fish can see those a whole lot better.

that said, if i was to have to choose just 2 colors for dry flies, it would be black and grizzly. black for dark flies, and grizzly for everything else. griz also has a "buggier" look if you ask me, it seems to simulate legs.

your best bet is to just try it and see. if the fish you are after don't care, why should you? :thumb:

[ceviche]

It depends on the fly you're trying to imitate and if you or the trout actually give enough of a damn. I'd just finish making the fly you're working on and then do a couple more with the other hackle. Then next time you are out fishing, give each of those flies their turn. The trout are the best judges.

[earlsmith]

On The Yellowstone, Green is green and Dun is Dun =), your experiment there would yield a very finicky trout........I would "test" the pattern to see if the takes are consistent. We could argue for days over sillouhette, color, size, sometimes I think they all play a part, but I have also found hungry fish that take it if it floats lol
Earl

[Rory McMahon]

I could test the two of them but that would require me to actually buy the brown hackle. Thats what im trying to get out of with just using grizzly. Ohh, and the fly im tying is a Royal Wulff. I forgot to add that in my original post.

[Rory McMahon]

Ohh, and i have another question on hackle. Is there a trick to it? whenever i wind it around the hook, it flares out and it isn't just vertical like all the pictures show. Does anyone else have a problem with this or am i just retarded at winding hackles.

[speyfisher]

Felt tip markers can make grizzley hackle almost any color you want. You have to play with the haclke as you wind it on. Coax it with a little twist one way or the other to get it to lay or stand up the way you want.

[Philster]

How important is the hackle color, if i used grizzly hackle when it said to use brown hackle, how much of a difference would it make?

Well, if you think about how hackle works on a standard dry fly pattern, color shouldn't matter that much as it just dimples the surface making distorted bright spots. For parachute style, it might make more of a difference if you worry about those things. It's not a perfect representation, but take a glass pie plate, fill it with water, float some flies treated with floatant and get kind of a fish eye view. The biggest problem with this is it only gives you the "i'm about to hit it" view, and not the "whats that floating down towards me?" view. I'm not a big worrier about color except with midges, where for some reason it really seems to matter :confused:

[toddsbernina]

Ohh, and i have another question on hackle. Is there a trick to it? whenever i wind it around the hook, it flares out and it isn't just vertical like all the pictures show. Does anyone else have a problem with this or am i just retarded at winding hackles.

I ran into the same problem this morning when tying some wolly worms. what seemed to make a difference for me is paying attention to the angle the feather is at when you tie it on and for some reason my hackle turns better when i dont use hackle plyers. and like speyfisher said twist it to make it do what you want.

[sixfinger]

trout 990,
you could have a inferior cape/saddle,neck (whatever your using). Even whiting is not 100% perfect. Look for twisting or cupping of the feathers. If you have feathers that are doing one or the other (or both), then you might as well feed it to your dog. ( save it for bass flies)

[Minx]

Rut roh Sixfinger, I think I understand the twisting of the hackle, but cupping of the feathers? You wouldn't have a picture of what you are saying? I too, like so many beginners, started with no idea of what a good hackle feather should be. Guy down the road used to raise game cocks and I got a deceased rooster as my first cape. Thought I had it going on until I bought a 10 pack from Whiting....my dries instantly started to look better (sizing the hackle to the hook size helped a little too). Y'all have taught me so much in the short time I've been here, but please explain more about this cupping......chuck

[troutaholic]

It also helps to stroke the feather fibers out to where they're perpendicular to the shaft as you're wrapping them. I usually tie in the feather from the tip. Also there's a world of difference in the higher quality hackles- they're much easier to use. Good luck!

[sixfinger]

Its hard to explain without a picture or sample, but i dont have one. So I drew a crappy picture. The back of the hackle feather is concave, so if you put it on a flat surface, like a table, it would not lie flat on the table. You will never get a good full hackle or a straight tail on a dry fly with this quality. Most of the time it is subtle, not all feathers in the neck will have it. I have seen a whiting silver that had twisting and cupping, so always inspect your materials before you purchase, never assume that just because its a genetic its the best quality.

[Minx]

Hmmm...I see what you mean. After a close examination under the light & glass, I can see the "cupping" you're talking about. Some the hackles had alot, others less.....even one twisted over. Does the way it's stored have anything to do with it? Will steaming the hackle before tying help? Is it the luck of the draw when it comes to selecting a good pack of hackles? Is there one company better than the others? Lots of questions, I know, but I've turned to the dark side with this fly tying stuff....from casual to just about everynite. This is getting pretty cool.....finally :) Thanx....chuck

[fredaevans]

I could test the two of them but that would require me to actually buy the brown hackle. Thats what im trying to get out of with just using grizzly. Ohh, and the fly im tying is a Royal Wulff. I forgot to add that in my original post.

One other option (you don't what a pile of capes sitting around) is to get a couple of 'Pantine (sp?) Pens.' With the 'proper colour(s)' you just "paint" the Griz. hackle a different "base colour." Then it's Bob's your Uncle.

Sorry Jim! Didn't see your post above.
Fred

[Rory McMahon]

trout 990,
you could have a inferior cape/saddle,neck (whatever your using). Even whiting is not 100% perfect. Look for twisting or cupping of the feathers. If you have feathers that are doing one or the other (or both), then you might as well feed it to your dog. ( save it for bass flies)

If by twisting you mean the whole hackle twist while im putting it in. Then yes, its impossible to wind on a hackle without twisting it. Maybe my feathers just suck.

[sixfinger]

by twisting I mean that the hackle feather grows twisted. Not twisting while wrapping

[Don Stracener]

Just a note on color.

Tied a few flies with some blue colored hackle I had on the bench.

It was a OK day on the stream and for kicks tied on the fly with blue hackle. The fish were not going crazy for anything special but when that blue hackled fly got even close to the water they charged it like I would a big hamburger.

The logic of representing legs would say colors not a big deal, what happens on the stream is another thing. Try the same fly with 2, 3, or 4 colors of hackle and test it yourself.