Lower Forty Flyting Lab - February 17, 2000

February 17, 2000

THE SADDLE HACKLE EXPLOSION

A few years ago, Whiting Farms began revolutionizing the hackle industry with the introduction of the quarter saddle. Their timing could not have been better. In recent years, there has been a serious movement toward the use of saddle hackle in all forms of dry fly applications. This trend came about because the product being offered had become far superior in quality to the commonly used rooster cape. The Whiting quarter saddles offer fine, supple quills, uniform barb length, high barb count, a longer "sweet spot", and most importantly were generous enough to tie 200-350 dry flies per cape.

This means that the dry fly enthusiast could now purchase the finest hackle available for about 20 bucks, instead of dolling out $50-$75 per flavor for a full blown cape. Hence, the explosion.

Just recently, and totally out of curiosity, I randomly selected a saddle and began inspecting it under a microscope and my finding were quite startling.

I began by plucking a few unsuspecting little critters from the mother skin and held them up to a tape measure. To my utter amazement one hackle measured 22" in length, the other 20". I estimated that each hackle feather possessed enough material to comfortably tie 4 to 6 Catskill style dry flies. Multiply the number 4 (the minimum number of flies per feather), times the number of individual feathers on the cape (87 usable), and the saddle would yield an incredible 348 dry flies. What is more important was the consistency of the barb length. Unlike feathers harvested from a rooster neck, the individual barb’s were uniform in length throughout the duration of the feather.

Another important factor was stem thickness, or lack there of. The only factor that causes hackles to recoil and twist during rotation is, quite simply, the circumference of the main stem. The Hoffman feathers I sampled measured only .004" at their widest, which guarantees the user trouble free application.

On further inspection, I also took note of the number of barbs per inch. No, I didn’t actually inventory the entire feather, however, the barb count was so intense and consistent that any improvement in genetics would seem pointless.

The color of the hackle was vibrant and powerful with high luster, a quality sought after by all tiers regardless of skill level.

So what is the down side? Well, there are actually, two. Because these saddles are of such high quality, they possess no tailing material. This is easily remedied by purchasing packages of tailing material, such as, Micro Fibbets, or, Nature’s Spirit individually. The second problem is their limitations regarding smaller fly sizes. At present, saddles are being offered that tie down to size 18, with an occasional 20. For midges, bwo’s, and similar species in the 20 to 26 range, the fly tyer must still rely on a rooster neck to achieve the desired result.