undersized hackle problems?

[phillyfly]

Just sat down to tie a bunch of 14 parachute ants and all I had in black were size 18 whiting feathers. I tied two with the 18 sized hackle and found it much easier as i wasnt tying down any barbs of the hackle. I could use grizzle hackle in the proper size but this seemed much easier and it floats in a glass of water. Has anyone tried this and found it to sink too easily on the stream or not sit correctly. Any input would be great before I crank out a bunch of these.

 

[wsender]

It'll do, just not as well as the proper sized hackle. I tied a few olive and sulphur parachutes with undersized hackle and wish I had tied it with the proper size.