Do I need a cape?

[Corbo]

I use both capes and saddles; depends on what I'm tying.

I prefer parachutes to traditional dries and for these I prefer saddles as I can whip off many with a single feather... they seem to be less "stiff" when wrapping the feather around the vertical wing.

For smaller & traditional dries I like capes as barb length is more critical; too big a hackle and the fly rides on it's side or even upside down.

With any piece of feather or fur don't be afraid to take it out of the package and look it over before you buy.

For Elk hair caddis flies I have often looked at 50 or more chunks before I found one with fine "non too hollow" hairs I prefer as it won't "splay" too much.

For hackle feathers Indians are cheap and in my experience not as stiff a fiber but I have used them and caught fish.... you may want to look at them carefully as many have "webbing" between the barbs instead of "clean" barbs.

Many years ago one of our kids went in my fly tying room and left the dog behind... that retriever is now 13 years old and doesn't know how close he came to death... the necks he ate were priceless.

[501]

Having started with lesser saddles I have learned that grade one and two necks provide superior hackles for 12 to 22 and beyond drys. They are more expensive but I seem to get good milage from them. A less expensive option I use is to buy 1/2 necks when I can find them for colors I use less often.

Lee

[Grannyknot]

Hey guys I wanted to open this one back up and see if anyone had any experience with whiting capes. I need something in ginger color, and with the feather hair craze just now winding down, most stores still don't have an assortment of saddle colors. I am mainly concerned with getting a pretty high barb count and was curious if the whiting saddles have a higher barb count than other brands. Thanks, Cody.

[billyspey]

Originally Posted by Grannyknot

Hey guys I wanted to open this one back up and see if anyone had any experience with whiting capes. I need something in ginger color, and with the feather hair craze just now winding down, most stores still don't have an assortment of saddle colors. I am mainly concerned with getting a pretty high barb count and was curious if the whiting saddles have a higher barb count than other brands. Thanks, Cody.

No, several good growers Metz ,Conranch and others, I prefer saddles over capes ,stems are not as stiff wrap easier on the hook, good barb count, but I have not ever counted the barbs, I have been very pleased with what I have gotten from other growers , I thought that Whiting was the best until I started to look close at other growers , In the last year I have bought several capes and saddles from other growers have been surprised with their quality and colors .