Dry Fly Hackle Explained with Kelly Galloup

We get a lot of questions from our customers about what types of feathers are best for specific tying situations, especially when it comes to tying dry flies. In this video, Kelly will walk you through the differences between dry fly capes and saddles and also explain the grading scale. This video is for beginner and intermediate tyers and we hope you enjoy it.

[@lathandeyoung8886]

Best video I've seen on hackle. You really killed this one Kelly.

[@talon769]

By far the most educational fly tying/fishing channel on YT!! Loved Cripples and Spinners! Thanks, Kelly!!!

[@gregsage1605]

This was a Phd course in feathers. Thank you! I learned more that I'll ever need, but will make much better buying decisions!

[@HalfInsaneOutdoorGuy]

This is absolutely incredible...from every which way you can look at it, it's just absolutely incredible!

[@chrishockleyoutdoors5419]

Wow... i just learned more about feathers that i didn' t even know I didn't know... does that make sense? Excellent video. Thank you for this.

[@markallenbell3868]

I recently purchased a barred ginger cape from Kelly. Told them what size hackle I would use the most of. They picked out a beautiful one. Perfectly sized. That’s why I depend on high quality shops like Slide Inn. Love that neck.

[@craigdebeer1444]

It was such good information, for someone like me just starting off. I'm looking forward to the next of your videos.

Been tying for over 20 years... This is by far the BEST summary I've ever came across! I wish I had came across this and saved myself money instead of buying cheap stuff all the way. Although I wouldn't recommend buying the fancy stuff if you're a beginner. ;)

[@susanunderwood6706]

Great video thank you so much.

[@michaelclark2840]

Well that was in depth. Thankyou👍👍👍

[@jerrybates940]

Thanks, Kelly. Always educational. Have you ever done a video about fly lines, weight forward v double taper, using a size larger, how often to change out, etc

[@lambertsaldi1550]

Kelly Great Review thank you Good Luck on the water 👍🇺🇸 The Vermonter

[@jsboyle3459]

Very helpful👍

[@LumocolorARTnr1319]

Good info!

[@comesahorseman]

Thanks! 👍👍

[@Pwrcritter]

Greetings from Int'l angler!

[@YouCanFixIt]

Very much appreciate the explanation the whole process of learning is a little overwhelming. So many different opinions kinda like anything in the fishing industry. What would you recommend for someone just getting started tying but targeting Bass rather than typical salmon and trout applications would very much like to tie my own jigs rather than just use synthetic skirt materials.

[@OldBear5255]

Great video. I’ve have a few of writings saddles and necks. They are all great and well marked. I like the saddles best because they have a lot of use in tying a lot of different sizes. Thanks for another very helpful video Kelly. Thanks for sharing with us all. Have a great day my friend. Best Regards, Ken P..S I know what he’s sayin s--head. I’ve been tying for over 40 years. I look and use what I have so bugger-off

[@ibookje]

Didn't you listen (or know)? Saddles DON'T have many different sizes. Basically two sizes. It's the cape that has many different sizes.

[@termite122]

the modern day hackle from whiting is incredible..i myself and friends though rarely use hackled dry flies anymore except for maybe sum parachutes or hackle winged spinners and that being said what i wish were the necks still yeilded spade feathers for tailing which they dont anymore

[@JWolfy11]

what are a few different methods to store, preserve, and protect hackle/capes? I'm struggling with finding a more permanent way to do this. If it matters, I tie in my garage so the 'protect' piece of that question is important.

[@dalen9125]

hey, Kelly, you pointed me a place a few mil es out of you when I was there in Aug last year. What was the name of that place? I am still in my unicorn search for a cree cape.

[@wab99]

I think another big plus for necks is the spade hackle on the sides used for tailing dry flies. Without it I'd have to buy something else on top the neck to get the tailing fibers. At least for me necks make more sense.

[@imaxfli]

Looking at these necks versus ones I bought 25 years ago? My, how they have grown.

[@BrianOHanlon]

There is one more thing I would offer in relation to a video about how to choose and buy the right hackles for making flies. Especially when it comes to dry fly hackles. Because I often try and explain this to modern era fly fishers, who just didn't come up by learning how to catch trout or salmon like I did as a kid. They've come up in different ways, hucking streamers or fly fishing on salt water flats for all kinds of different species, in all kinds of locations are the world. So many times, one gets asked that same question now. What relevance does dry fly fishing for trout even have today? And I tried to come up with a way to explain this, that would make total sense. And the analogy that I came up with was boxing. Dry fly fishing is to fly fishing, what lightweight division boxing is to the other heavier belts, weights and divisions. For example, in the olden days Muhammed Ali would regularly attend boxing matches at divisions in the middle weight, in order to study what was happening down at those weight levels. And many of the things that Muhammed Ali did throughout his career, were things that other 'heavy' weight boxers just did not do. His jab for example, which was often compared to a rattle snake in how it attacks, was something that middle weight boxers do much more of. But heavy weights rarely learn it. It is the same with fly fishing, and so many people are coming into fly fishing now, who have all of these systems and tackle, and access to all kinds of fish and water. So that nowadays, I do get asked a lot what relevance does dry fly fishing even have now? And I have to laugh out loud when I listen to various forms of that same question. The answer is probably nothing, and everything at the same time.

[@jordansterner8511]

So these different grades do they make your dry fly float longer or is it just for looks

[@gnolmit]

Jordan Sterner it’s about the number of feathers and particularly the number of feathers in the 12-16 size

[@BrianOHanlon]

I spent long enough fishing dry flies made using Indian capes of a hundred or so different kinds of shades and colours, to know how unsuccessful an enterprise that can be. It will actually significantly hold back your development as a dry fly fisherman, never mind even as a fly tyer or anything. Just as a dry fly fisher. By not having access to at least one decent cock hackle cape. As Kelly explained, either a neck or a cape. The first Metz cape that I ever owned was a genetically bred grizzle cape (we'd never actually seen them in Ireland before). I purchased it in the 1990's and I still have a lot of it. They used to sell 'half necks' instead of full necks. And believe me, even the half neck still required me to take out a small loan.

[@BrianOHanlon]

It's still a beautiful product in terms of it's colors and it's feathers (if one wanted say grizzle hackles to make predator wet flies with or streamers that required good geometric, strongly defined feathers as part of the dressing). Some of Kelly's streamer patterns actually do require a number of grizzle hackles to be tied in. The saltwater patterns in particular, if memory serves me correct. And my little 'half neck' Metz cape that is in a drawer is still going to get utilized when I get time to dress some saltwater patterns that my friends ask me to make them. Nothing is ever wasted, and that 'half neck' has been sitting there in a drawer since the 1990's. Waiting for it's time to shine. Waiting for the right kind of application. Actually, there is a picture on the video list on the right of a 'Belly Bunker' wool head fly, which has a grizzle hackle down it's side.

[@BrianOHanlon]

The odd thing about that half neck, that required a small short-term loan to finance, was that it was purchased as a dry fly cape (like what Kelly was describing there about the saddle cape from Whiting). But the quality of the feather barbs was so inadequate for the purposes of making any dry flies, that it just wasn't funny. After that first experience with genetically modified capes in Ireland, I sort of ploughed along for a long time, making dry flies and not really having the right materials. Until the next thing that I got was a brown cinnamon Whitling full cape of some low grade. But the quality of that neck cape which I still have has good enough to make dry flies of lots of different sizes. That is, if you wanted to experiment you could do that. Remember too, that it's always easier to 'develop' a fly first by over-sizing it. It won't catch anything really, because it's too large. However, in making flies one is as well to dress them too large in order to 'learn' how to make a fly. How to adopt the right sequence and develop good 'muscle memory'.

[@BrianOHanlon]

When you've done all of that 'research and development' on your flies at 'too large' a scale, then scale it down. The smaller flies, those sizes 18 to 20 flies are the ones that do the damage on the river side. Not the twelves, not even the fourteens. Although if there is a feeding frenzy and you've got nothing else in a pinch, then a fourteen cast well in front of a panicked starving trout will work. And it's a heck of a lot easier to learn how to dress fourteens and twelves, than it is to dress anything smaller. Heck, there is no harm in making dry flies of size twelve to ten if you want. And leave them in a box somewhere, to use in a hatch of large May flies some spring time. Or use them as night time egg laying sedge imitations. I would strenuously advise against going straight for the 'saddle' capes for that reason. The saddles capes are for when you really know what you're doing. When you've really learned how to make a dry fly, and more to the point, how to fish a dry fly.

[@BrianOHanlon]

The point about fishing size 18 and 20 dry fly patterns (that are like tiny microscopic detailed versions of the larger prototypes), is that you are in the right 'zone' where even the largest trout with devour those flies. You can find yourself attached to some very large specimens. However, even though you are in the trout's zone, you are completely out of the human being's zone. I.e. You cast it out there at the end of some length of invisible tippet material, and the fly drifts somewhere and a fish takes. However, you've no idea what you are doing, because you've never watched a larger dry fly navigate it's way down through a stretch of river and figured out how long a drift I can safely get using a dry fly, before it drags and therefore starts putting 'down' trout that I hope to continue fishing for.

[@BrianOHanlon]

This gets us into the whole thing of cast, and how to 'throw' aerial mends and parachutes or wiggles into your dry fly cast. This gets us into the whole thing of river craft, which is really at a premium in dry fly fishing for trout. It's at a premium in fly fishing for other species too, like Atlantic salmon or sea run trout like rainbows and cut throat on the west coast. However, fishing dry flies for trout is where Kelly first amassed all of that important river craft, and an ability to take in what was happening on a river. And the best way to do that, is to take some light weight tackle and a box of dry flies (dry flies which are over-sized preferably), and figure out how many trout that you can 'not' put down casting those over-sized dry flies across them on a floating drift. If you can do that, then you are really good. You won't catch any trout doing this, but you will pay your dues in terms of learning some river craft. And the best bit, is that if you keep your casting 'short' in length you'll be able to study what's really happening to the dry flies. Because they are large enough to see.

[@robertcornelius3514]

I have never asked for anything in my life, but after losing my home in a wildfire, and having terrible insurance, my present situation could use some help. I lost many tools in the fire. You said you have an over abundant supply of capes, and I could sure use three to four of them. The mid quality would suit me just fine. Also, I could really use a scratch and dent entry level rotary vise. As I said before, asking for things has never been my thing. Please help me get back tying again. Thank you.

[@mikeh5908]

Glad your computer made it out of the fire 😜😜😜

[@robertcornelius3514]

@@mikeh5908 , you laugh at people who went through a terrible hardship. My community who suffered along with me spit in your face. Your time is coming.

[@mikeh5908]

@@robertcornelius3514 ok..ill be right here waiting.. with some donations.....

[@oscarbarreiro4266]

I thank you very much. Great video. You talk of "Coq de León" as well, I do not doubt that whitting has great feathers, but the real thing is the "Gallo de León" (it is a region in Spain) and they have a big tradition... I think Whitting should not use that name it is just no fair.

[@robertbarr8001]

Well that's something that Dr Whiting is himself aware of. He says that a re-naming would be the way forward, given how much his birds have moved on from the original stock. I guess achieving that is not quite straightforward since the old term is so well established in the minds of the rest of the world.

[@slickydicky]

Oh boo hoo

[@warrenhagenbuck8340]

Yes you have a very good program. But you tell us about all of these products but you don't have them or do you have a catalog.

[@TheSlideinn]

www.slideinn.com/store/k-fly-tying/feathers/whiting-farms/

[@user-mb1hg4qu9f]

If you want a good example of genetic engineering, just compare fly tying necks and saddles from today and 25 years ago. Amazing

[@chadmann2724]

$35 for a small* aluminum hackle gauge… goodness i hope i get my use out of it 😂😭

[@Professorcnile1]

Quality, count, and color.... sounds like diamonds, lol! just missing clarity!

[@anitacohen6900]

Kelly, thanks for sharing your expertice, but please consider removing the distracting "Whitish Lives Matter" punning from your backround. It takes a less than serious or other than intended angle on something that is of a very grave matter of importance to many of our fellow citizens.

[@DrJohn493]

Agreed...beat me to it!

[@mikeh5908]

Forget race and live your life cuase we all gonna die and race religion wealth non of it will matter.

[@mikeh5908]

Maybe whitting needs to change their name too so they wont be racist...smh