North West Fly Tier - How to select the right hackle feather for a fly

information on Hackle Feathers

	Selecting the right type: There are 2 basic types of hackle: wet (has soft fibers and absorbs water) and dry (has stiff fibers and repels water). Dry hackles are usually found on rooster necks and can also be on rooster saddles. Necks and saddles come in grades 1 through 3 with grade 1 being the highest quality (least amount of webbing between fibers) and 3 being lower quality (slightly more webbing). A feather that has little webbing and stiff fibers are best used on dry flies. A feather that is heavily webbed is best used for wet flies, streamers, and nymphs. These are more common on rooster saddles. Saddles also often have larger hackles than necks. Selecting the right size: Hackles used in dry flies should have fibers that are about one and a half times the length of the hook gap. Another good way to select the right size is to purchase a hackle gauge like the one pictured at the right. These show what hook size a certain dry fly hackle should be used with. Though it is not as important, when selecting a wet hackle you generally want to pick one that has fibers almost two times the length of the hook gap.

		Neck Saddle


		Hackle Gauge