another hackle question? hackle guaging.

[DJBerg]

so after a bit of googling i've seen different posts talking about gauges, how different gauges have different lengths for the same size hooks and so forth.

then i also saw one of the google finds was from a book, didnt see which book just found what i was looking for. that book stated 3/4 of the hook shank. this seems like a good start point. another find stated 1.5x the hook gap.

what do you guys go by?

thanks again to all for your knowledge!

 

[JackM]

Look and "feel." Depending on the pattern, you may be measuring by the gap length or shank length. I always bought the presized hackles and tied according to the size stated. This always seemed satisfactory. If you have a cape or saddle and have to guage, get a reliable guide and stick to it. For dries, I have always felt that the fly placed on a flat surface should be supported by the front hackle and tail in a nearly horizontal but slightly rearward leaning plane. If your guide causes that result, it can be considered satisfactory, imo.

 

[DJBerg]

thanks jack, i'm still lost lol. i asked my fly mentors up here and not a single one of them had a matching answer. :-?

one says one gap length no more. his nephew says 2x gap, and both are amazing tyers and fisherman. and the boy wonder prodigy of the both of them says depends on the fly, then proceeded to email some guy in the catskills, who is i guess huge into heritage tying for his opinion.

man this seems like a bit more than just a simple one answer fits the question scenario...

 

[PennKev]

DJBerg wrote:

... that book stated 3/4 of the hook shank. this seems like a good start point. another find stated 1.5x the hook gap.

That's pretty much how I do it. Also, I usually wrap the hackle over the shank behind the wings before tying it in so as to see how the proportions look. If the hackle seems too big or too small I put the feather aside for future use and find a more appropriate size.

I wouldn't get too wrapped up in finding hackles that exactly correlate to some measurement. They are a natural material and the barb length is going to vary slightly for every feather you pull. If you've used up all the feathers that have a certain barb length, a feather with slightly longer or shorter barbs will do fine. So as long as the final proportions and function of the fly are still good.

Kev

 

[shortrod]

1.5 x hook gap (standard hook gap of the hook size). I use gauge (griffin i think).

 

[Ebrant10]

Personal opinion i like the same size as the hook gap to maybe just a touch over. The thing is no one has the "correct" answer what one claims is correct is wrong to someone else, so experiment and use what you feel looks the best to you.

Tight lines

Evan

 

[blueheron]

Catskill style is 1.5X the hook gap, it's a good starting point, floats high and can be trimmed streamside if you want it to float in the film.

 

[dryflyguy]

When I took my fly tying class years ago, I was taught that the hackle should be 1.5 to 2 times the hook gap. However, I think that that's kinda large - and tie my flies with hackle that's about equal to, or slightly larger than the hook gap.

 

[nfrechet]

use 1.5 times the hook gape of the hook you are currently using as a rough guide but its perfectly ok to adjust the length from there

 

[afishinado]

1.5x the hook gape +/- for Catskill tied flies. While still on the cape, I actually wrap the hackle around the hook to gauge it. And when I find the right sized hackle, I pull all my hackle off the cape/neck at one time so I don't have to waste time measuring for each fly.

Parachutes 2x the hook gape or >

 

[FrequentTyer]

1.5x the gape for what everyone calls Catskill style, 2x the gape or larger for actual Catskill style, 3x the gape or larger for variants or skaters...or you could just get a feel for it and use what works. The numbers are partly preference and partly functional. For example, some like to dub the thorax on a dry fly then wrap the hackle. If you do this, you would want to undersize the hackle to compensate for the thickness of the dubbing. All of the comments about the line from the tail to the hackle are correct, but then tail length and wing placement will set the hackle size. So different tyers will have different choices, but all are shooting for the same geometry.
Mike.

 

[SteelheadAlleyFlies]

The standard rule for catskill drys is 2x the hook gap. If your tying a full body hackle fly such as a stimulator or elk hair caddis the hackle should be shorter 1x-1.5x the hook gap.