Darbee Duns

"When money really got tight, I began commercial fly tying because fishing seemd to be the only business that wasn't too affected by the depression".

And in turn, Harry Darbee went on to develop a line of feathers that changed fly tying. Harry used the "shot gun" approach to breeding. He threw a dun rooster in with brown hens and waited to see what came out.

His aim was for the perfect dun, and as you can see in the pictures, the match is perfect. A tightly held small flock has been preseved by one breeder..... take a look!

Harry Darbee processing capes in 1955

A bit of history

When deciding whether to buy a dry fly cape or saddle there are a few things to first consider. First, what sizes are you planning to tie? With a good rooster cape you can tie sizes 6 to 26. Rooster saddles on the other hand have a very narrow size range, usually just two or three. The feathers are long and narrow and you can easily tie six or seven flies of the same size from just one feather.

Dry flies need good strong tails and dry fly capes have great tailing fibers along the edges of the cape. These are the feathers that would be on the throat of the rooster. They are called spade hackle and have the strongest fibers, feathers needed to protect the throat from the sharp spurs of other roosters.

Darbee Duns

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Grey Duns


grey dun	light grey	dark grey	charcoal	lt splash	dk splash

Brown Duns


brown dun	lt brown	dk brown	tan dun	honey dun	rusty dun

Blue Duns


blue dun	light blue	dark blue	cahill	grizzly dyed	lt grizzly

Darbee Rooster Cape - $45

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Cape - $25

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Dun Variants "One-of-a-Kind" Color

These are one-of-a-kind colors. You will receive the exact one pictured. They are only available in full capes.

Variants


variant 1	variant 2	variant 3	variant 4	variant 5	variant 6


variant 7	variant 8	variant 9	variant 10	variant 11	variant 12


variant 13	variant 14	variant 15	variant 16	variant 17	variant 18

Darbee Rooster Cape - $55

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Grizzly & Browns

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Grizzlies


grizzly	light	dark	dun	dark dun	bleached

Browns


brown	cream	ginger	gin var	greenwell	furnace

Darbee Rooster Cape - $45

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Cape - $25

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Badgers & Others

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Badgers


silver	golden	cream	speckled	dun	light dun

Others


black	white	dyed black	olive	dyed ginger	new color

Darbee Rooster Cape - $45

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Cape - $25

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

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Darbee Rooster Saddles

If you love tying with grizzly hackle and want feathers in larger sizes - this is for you! This special Whiting-Darbee line of roosters offers a unique saddle with wider feathers for tying larger flies. Also, the feathers are also not as long. This makes wrapping the feathers on the hook more manageable.

Darbee Duns

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Grey Duns


grey dun	light grey	dark grey	pwd	charcoal	dk splash

Brown Duns


brown dun	lt brown	dk brown	sandy dun	splash dun	honey dun

Blue Duns


blue dun	light blue	dark blue	cahill	splash	grizzly dyed

Darbee Rooster Saddle - $50

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Saddle - $30

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Dun Variants "One-of-a-Kind" Color

These are one-of-a-kind colors. You will receive the exact one pictured. They are only available in full capes.

Variants


variant 1	variant 2	variant 3	variant 4	variant 5	variant 6


variant 7	variant 8	variant 9	variant 10	variant 11	variant 12


variant 13	variant 14	variant 15	variant 16	variant 17	variant 18

Darbee Rooster Saddle - $60

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Browns & Badgers

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Browns


brown	cream	ginger	coachman	dyed ginger	barred

Badgers


silver	golden	dun	speckled	greenwell	furnace

Darbee Rooster Saddle - $50

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Saddle - $30

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Grizzly

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Grizzlies


grizzly	dun	dark	light dun	variant	bleached

Dyed over Grizzly


brown	olive	burnt org	gold	black	march brown


red	yellow	orange	chartruese	pink	kingfisher

Darbee Rooster Saddle - $60

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Saddle - $35

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

Dyed over White

Roll your curser over a thumbnail to see an image of the full cape in the window. Click on the thumbnail to see the full size image.

Natural Colors


dyed black	white	black	brown	burnt org	copper


olive	dk olive	lt olive	gold olive	claret	peacock

High Visability Colors


red	yellow	orange	chartruese	hot pink	purple


kingfisher	sil doc blue	lavander	magenta	soft pink	salmon

Darbee Rooster Saddle - $60

Darbee Rooster 1/2 Saddle - $35

***To checkout, please click the view "cart button".

"No Questions Asked" Return Policy

If you order feathers from me and are not happy for whatever reason, please contact me right away and I will resolve the problem. I don't want you to be unhappy with anything you purchase.

Thanks, David 608-332-4220

Please disregard the following, it is a result from an error in the code and will be deleted soon. Thanks

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