Feathers for tying Trout Flies

Whiting Dry Fly Capes & Saddles

To tie a good dry fly you'll need hackle with stiff barbs and a strong flexible stem. These capes tie everthing from an #8 to a #28 come in a wide selection of colors to immitate any fly you'll see out on the stream.

Winger Capes

Wings on a dry fly should be small webby feathers with rounded tips to give your fly a realistic silhouette on the water. Todays hen capes are too pointy and dry fly like. These feathers solve that problem.

Coq de Leon

This is by far the best tailing material for tying dry flies. The barbs are long and stiff, supporting your fly on the waters surface. The speckling on each barb gives the tail a true buggy appearance.

Peacock Herl

As every fly tyer knows, there is something magical about how the light reflects off peacock herl when it's in the water. Trout find it irrisistable so it's no surprise it is found in so many fly recipies.

Darbee Duns Capes & Saddles

Harry Darby and Andy Miner bred the finest feathers for tying the quill gordon, blue quill, and blue wing olives. These catskill style patterns are every bit as effective today, and thanks to one breeder, so are the feathers.

Lemon Wood Duck

These delicutly barred flank feathers make beautiful wings on such flies as the hendicksons and the drake. Some use dyed mallard as a sub, but as you'll see, there's nothing like the real thing.

Duck Quills

Another style of tying in wings is to use duck quills. The picture is of a no hackle bwo. Another popular fly is the royal coachman, seen in the picture on the left, with it's stunning white quills tyed in as wings.

Golden Pheasant Tippets

Another style of tying in wings is to use duck quills. The picture is of a no hackle bwo. Another popular fly is the royal coachman with it's stunning white quills tyed in as wings

Whiting Hen Hackle

Hen feathers offer a wide range of colors and fiber lengths for tying wingless wet flies. This also includes coq de leon hen and brahma hen. The feathers are soft and webby, able to soak up water so that your fly sinks and stays under water.

Pheasant Tail

A well marked pheasant tail is a must have. The fibers make great bodies, leggs, and tails and their movement in the water gives the nymph a natural appearance. It's the only feather used in the pheasant tail nymph pattern.

Grouse

The brown and tan mottled apearance of feathers on the back of a grouse creates a nice effect on soft hackled nymphs and make them very good feather to have in your tying arsenal.

Wood cock

The woodcock feather is one of the softest feathers for hackling soft-hackle collars, perfect for fishing in clear still waters. The movement is subtle and the mottled color closely resembles the naturals.

Peacock Herl

Peacock herl has an irredecent quaility that fish find irresistable. Uses include tailing or body material such as in the Zug Bug as well as wingcases like in the Gold Ribbed Hare's Ear

Duck Wings

The very small grey and dunn colored feathers on the top and underside of a mallard wing are extreemly webby and are perfect for tying PMD of BWO patterns that immitate the wings of emerging mayflies. Try teal wings for small flies.

Hungarian Partridge

If you're going to tie soft hackles, a good partridge skin should be first on your list. The feathers do a remarkable job of giving the impression of an insect's leg segmentation. Feathers range in color from grey to tan to mottled brown.

Soft Hackle Rooster Saddles

Even though these are rooster saddles, they are bred to be used for tying soft hackle flies. The fibers are soft and there is a lot of webbing in the feathers. They are great for tying wooly buggers!

Starling

Starling is a very useful feather for tying small nymphs. Starling and purple is an easy fly to tie and very effective. Feathers range in color from dunn to beattle green with tan tips alowing for many interesting patterns.

Quail

Quail feathers are perfect for hackling small flies and are a blend of tan, brown, white, and grey with a distict mottled appearance. Bobwhites are nice but be sure and check out the other species that I've listed.

Goose Biots

Biots can be used for wings such as on the prince nymph. Another use is a body material. When used to imitate the abdomen, the biots ridge suggests segmentation similar to the naturals.

Soft Hackle with Chic-a-bou

Long wide webby well marked feathers are the hallmark of a good matuka feather. These feathers are solid web - right to the very tip. Give them a try, they are a very effective fly.

Duck Quills

The white wing on a "Royal Coachman" is tyed with duck quill. And as you'll see on some of the flies that follow, duck quills are dyed to just about evey color you can imagine.

Gadwall Flank

The "Catskill" uses gadwall for both it's wing and tail. Just about any other duck flank such as teal, mallard, or pintail can be used in the same way, each having it's own unique size and color.

Goose Shoulder

Goose shoulder marries well and is easily dyed to many colors, as seen here in the "Silver Doctor". The fibers are long enough to tie a larger wing and strong enough to hold their shape.

Golden Pheasant

The "Abby" is just one of countless patterns that use the tippets from golden pheasant for tailing material. But there are many other feathers on this bird that you can use in tying wets. The red on the breast makes striking throats and tails.

Duck Wings

The irredescent blue on the secondary wing quills make for a striking wing. The "Butcher" uses mallard, but don't be afraid to experiment with other colors found on the different breeds of ducks.

Barred Wood Duck

"Tomah Joe" show season is just around the corner! As with every year, I will have the same wide selection, plenty to pick through, and off course, a few new offerings to grab your attention

Peacock Herl

Almost every feather on a peacock has a use in tying wet flies; swords for tailing as in the "Cassin" fly; herl for bodies; blue neck feathers for throats; and mottled wing quills for winging. Did I miss anything?

Whiting American Hen Saddles

The "Brandreth" pictured here is a good example of how hen saddles can be used for throats and tails. The colors are bright and the thicker fibers give the fly a nice look.

Oak Turkey

Oak Turkey is used on many patterns as a winging material. It is available in light, medium, and dark shades. Here in the "Governor" the mottling is on the dark side.

Hen Capes and Saddles - Natural Colors

"Greenwells Glory" is one of the most commonly fished flies in England. The collar on this fly is a greenwell hen cape - dark center with ginger edges. The saddles have a heavier fiber and make nice full throats.

Jungle Cock

Adding a junglecock eye to a fly seems to finish the fly and sets it off. Check out the "Telephone Box", the black of the junglecock against the white duck quill really ties the colors of the fly together.

Hen Pheasant Wing Quills

The wing on the "Fish Hawk" here is tyed with hen pheasant wing quills. The fibers are shorter than turkey but the delicate brown and tan mottling makes for a nice effect.

Guineafowl

The "Beauty" is an elegant fly that uses guinea wing quills for the wing and tail. Smaller body feathers, both natural and dyed, are nice for throats. Make sure to check out the color difference in some of the other breeds.

Streamer Capes & Saddles

These feathers come off my saltwater line and are perfect for tying streamer patterns. They are wide, webby, stiff feathers that hold there shape. If you're looking for bright colors, check out my saltwater page.

Golden Pheasant

The streamer in the picture is an old pattern and uses golden pheasant crest as a wing. There are so many uses for just about every feather on this bird, having a whole skin is a must.

Peacock Herl

Peacock herl is used in tying endless patterns. Whether it be used for tailing, body, winging, or any other use you can think of, it makes for a great fly. Take a look at the half moon feathers, they make nice cheeks.

Matukas Feathers

Long wide webby well marked feathers are the hallmark of a good matuka feather. These feathers are solid web - right to the very tip. Give them a try, they are a very effective fly.

Silver Pheasant

The grey ghost is a great example of how silver pheasant can finish off a fly. Check out the dyed colors - they make nice throats.

American Hen Capes and Saddles

The longer feathers on a hen cape make for nice wings on smaller streamers. And the saddles are perfect for tying in throats. Be sure to take a look at the natural colors in the Whiting Hen Hackle Line.

Wood Duck Flank

For nice throat, tails, or cheaks on streamer patterns, teal, gadwall, or wigeon are a must have. And be sure to check out the exotic species too!

Marabou - Strung Blood Quills

Tied in as a tail on a wooly bugger, the marabou breathes life into the fly. The long soft fibers can also be used to wrap incredibaly life-like fly bodies. Another popular use for marabou is to tie it in as a wing on a streamer pattern. The fluid motion in the water in unmatched by any new fangled sythetic!

Whiting Dry Fly Capes & Saddles

Trout love ants, and with a black cape you can tie tons of ants, black caddis, and beetles just to name a few. Soft hackle rooster saddles are also useful for tying terrestrial patterns. The fibers are not as stiff as dry fly and have more movement in the water.

Pheasant Tail

The long fibers on a pheasant tail feather are perfect for imitating the legs on many terrestrials such as grasshoppers and crane flies. Tying knots for leg joints gives it a natural look.

Mottled Turkey Quill

This nice little caddis fly pattern uses mottled turkey for its wings. Grasshopper patterns are another example of how the interesting color pattern on this feather can imitate the natural.

Whiting Soft Hackle Hen - Natural Colors

The wings on a Spruce moth or fly are tyed with feather tip of a silver badger hen cape. Hen feathers come in so many colors, are soft, and can be used for tails, collars, or palmered over the body of the fly.

Teal Flank

Teal can be used for small tails or throats on your fly. Its delicite barring also gives the impression of leg segmentation. Other species of duck work well too, so be sure to check them out.