FLYMPH FORUM

I was tieing a bunch of hen Soft Hackles yesterday when my wife asked me to strip the sheets off the bed. In the time it took me to walk upstairs, strip the sheets, put them in the washer, and return to my fly desk, my dog had eaten my last Whiting hen cape (Brown)! Needless to say i was very upset, and the dog (chihuahua) knew it. She made a dash for the doggy door and stayed outside for a half hour. Thats quite alot of time for a chihuahua when it's snowing.

I buy the Whiting hen capes in Brown whenever and wherever I can find the kind I like. It's not as easy as it sounds. Finding hen capes that are all Brown with little or no furnace stripes can be a tough task. I called my local fly shop (Western Anglers) and got ahold of the guy "not in charge". He wasnt much help. He informed me that he would leave a note for his boss and see if they could find some. I wasn't left with a sense of confidence from that call.

Next I called Charlies Fly Box. Charlie was very informative, but to my disappointment, didnt have any Brown hen hackles in stock. He did however let me know that he would talk to Whiting Farms on Monday and see if he could get some Brown hen capes. If they (Whiting) did have some, he would secure a couple for me. I hung up with Charlie with a sense of confidence that he would do his best to get me those hen hackles.

A few minutes ago I made the purchase of 1 Brown (I hope) hen cape from Hook and Hackle. It cast me 40.00 after shipping and handling. I still plan on buying the two capes from Charlie should he be able to secure them. Forty bucks is steep, especially when I can buy any other color for 20 to 25 dollars, but I am desperate for the color. It's a confidence issue for me.

It took a couple beers and about 90 minutes but the dog and I are friends again. I dont want to shoot her anymore, but the thought of her running into traffic wont leave my mind.

Conrach doesnt carry solid Brown hen capes as far as I could tell by his website. Yes, 40.00 dollars is too much, but I do like the patterns I tie with the solid Brown hen capes. I have been tying for 35 years. About 20 years ago the cat got a rooster saddle. I have been religous about putting my materials away until yesterday. Fifteen minutes away from the tying desk and now I am searching for the type of hackle that I want/need.

Try Jim Slattery at jimsflyco.com, he has a ton of hen.

You guys are really out there picking on a dog. How about this. Several years ago my sister-in-law came with her mother-in-law, when they left I was missing my most prized dun and ever more prized grizzle along with most of my matched duck wings and other stuff. I called my sil and told her well she never found my dun or grizzle necks.

DUBBN wrote:Conrach doesnt carry solid Brown hen capes as far as I could tell by his website. Yes, 40.00 dollars is too much, but I do like the patterns I tie with the solid Brown hen capes. I have been tying for 35 years. About 20 years ago the cat got a rooster saddle. I have been religous about putting my materials away until yesterday. Fifteen minutes away from the tying desk and now I am searching for the type of hackle that I want/need.

Wayne,

In regard to the Conranch solid brown hen capes you may very well be correct. As mentioned in my PM I had ordered two JV hen skins from Dennis. I should have questioned the photos which they have on the website as the brown hen skins look like furnace thru the neck feathers which upon receiving they are.

Regards, Jerry

Okay,
I've got a story to add, but it has absolutely nothing to do with fly tying, but it fits into the thread. As you all know, I paint, primarily in watercolors. When in college I had the opportunity to purchase a number of fine watercolor brushes, mostly made from Kolinsky Red Sable. These are the ultimate in watercolor brushes, and my investment in them was what I considered good since I knew that if they were properly cared for, would last the rest of my life. ( One beautiful #20 round cost me nearly $150.)

One day, a few years after I graduated from college I was getting ready to do a painting, and I started gathering my things around, but when I went to the jar where I use to store my brushes, I nearly had a heart attack. Someone had clipped the tips of my brushes off. OH MY GOD! I had flats and rounds and pointed brushes--all clipped. I will never forget it.

Upon some questioning, I discovered one of my twin daughters had given them a "hair cut".

The brushes have been replaced, albeit, with less expensive versions, and I do still own a few smaller brushes in the sable, but now all brushes are put away, properly. Same with the tying stuff. I now have grandchildren about as well as dogs!

Mark

narcodog wrote:Try Jim Slattery at jimsflyco.com, he has a ton of hen.

Thanks narco. I should have looked there first. I noticed that the hen cape/saddle on his website were $30.00 combo packages. I am hoping this is what Hook and Hackle is offering.

My last dog was an Autralian Kelpie with a strong herding instinct. I always left capes, saddles and animal skins out on my tying desk and he never touched them. Same goes for the two cats. Last September we had to put Cuhee the Kelpie to sleep after 15 great years. When I was ready we got a new puppy, a Springer Spaniel we named Ghillie. A bird dog....what was I thinking? I was away from my tying desk for about 5 minutes and my new, never touched Whiting Coq de Leon neck was in tatters with most of it missing. Ghillie pooped feathers for about three days. No, I didn't try to salvage the feathers. All of our tying supplies and now in an area of the house that is not dog accessible.

REE

DUBBN wrote:

narcodog wrote:Try Jim Slattery at jimsflyco.com, he has a ton of hen.

Thanks narco. I should have looked there first. I noticed that the hen cape/saddle on his website were $30.00 combo packages. I am hoping this is what Hook and Hackle is offering.

Call him he has a large selection that is not on the site at about half that price. I don't recall what they are but they are less than 30.00

Hi Dubbin,
You are quite right about Whiting Brown Hen Capes. True brown is bretty tough to get. I have at least 6 true browns in stock. What I have had to do is get Dyed Natural Brown Capes. They look real good and I'll never have to worry about Brown again. They go for $15.00 bucks a piece, they're soft and will tie down pretty small 22 size maybe size 24. The Hebert Hen Capes are $20.00.
Actually I have a bunch of hackle under the JimsFlyCo brand. Here is a link to my hackle color wall. It matches my wall of hackle in my shop.
http://campfirelodgewestyellowstone.com ... r-wall.asp
I'm in the process of updating both my Jimsflyco web site making it way more user friendly as well as putting an addition on to the lodge to expand the flyshop . The Wall of Hackle will now be 14 foot wide and 8 feet tall, covered with hackle. It's going to be pretty cool. Lots of construction going on here. One of these days I'll get a couple of days off!
Jim