Whiting vs. Herbert Miner Saddles

[ChemEAngler]

Hello,
My name is Travis and I am a Whiting Saddle addict.....

Now that I have that out of the way, I have a question for you other tiers out there. I love using Whiting saddle hackle and even like the 100's for some of my other flies. However, I have recently read that the Herbert Miner grade of Saddle from Whiting is a much more beautiful and brightly colored hackle. I don't recall ever seeing any at LRO. Looking at prices online, a full saddle sells for around $50 so they are competitive with Whiting. My concern is, how stiff are the barbs and what kind of size range can one get out of a typical saddle.

I have quite a few older Metz capes and all the hackle in the 14 to 20 range are all gone, so that is the size I am most getting out of it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Travis

[Elk riverrat]

I'm listening to this podcast as I type, I think it will answer your questions.

http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/speakers/thomas/thomas.cfm

[ChemEAngler]

Elk Riverrat,
Thanks for the link. That answered some of the questions I had about the difference. I ended up actually having to call Whiting and asking them to send me their in-house quick reference guide for my selection purposes. Surprisingly, they agreed to mail it. We will see what it is like when it arrives. From what it sounds like, the Hebert/Miner saddles are only good for sizes down to 16 whereas the Whiting saddle can be as small as a 24 in some cases.

Travis