Whiting Hackle Breakdown: Dry Fly Grading

If you’ve ever wondered what distinguishes a pro from a silver grade neck, you’re in the right place. We’re going to go over the factors that determine how Whiting grades their feathers and why those characteristics matter to the tyer.

Factors that Determine Feather Grade

Three key factors go into Whiting dry fly grading, with varying degrees of importance to the tyer:

1. Feather Count

The most obvious grading factor to the fly tyer is feather count. Feather count takes feather length into account as length contributes to potential tying volume. More feathers means more flies and thus the grade and value of the cape or saddle increases. The minimum quantity of usable feathers per grade for a saddle are as follows:

  • Pro: 250 flies
  • Bronze: 500 flies
  • Silver: 800 flies
  • Gold: 1100 flies
  • Platinum: 1500 flies

Assessing the total number of flies you can get out of a cape is more difficult due to the wider variation in size and length variation across the patch patch, but assuming you’re willing to tie a range of sizes the total numbers will be similar to that of saddles. It is important to note that if you use hackle more sparsely or are willing to take feathers all the way to the end of their length you can stretch a saddle far beyond these minimums. 

2. Feather Quality

Feather quality is the second most significant grading factor, I would argue the only reason it isn’t number one is due to how consistently engineered Whiting’s quality is nowadays. Feather quality comes down to three main factors: 

  • Barb count: The number of barbs per length of feather. A higher barb count means more hackle per turn, meaning you get more flies out of less feather. Achieving adequate hackle in fewer turns makes tying small dries much easier.
  • Barb quality: Barb quality comes down to stiffness, uniformity. Stiffer barbs maximize support on the water’s surface and split apart more easily when wrapping. Uniform length barbs down the entirety of a feather makes for consistently sized flies.
  • Rachis quality: The more fine and supple the rachis, or quill, is, the easier it is to wrap neatly and without breaking. A stiff rachis will often want to twist and and roll, making the feather more difficult to tie with.

3. Tip Development

This is one of the key factors that many fly tyers might not know about. If a bird’s feather tip gets damaged—either through contact with another bird in the cage or from some other trauma—this can lead to a compromised tip. Even though the rest of the feather might still be in excellent condition, too many damaged tips will immediately lower the grade. A feather with a sharp, undamaged tip is more likely to maintain its higher grade, so this is a critical part of grading, especially in necks. While the collector may care about tip development, it is nearly irrelevant to the practical tyer. Hackle tips do have a place on some great patterns but they are not the most commonly utilized portion of the feather.

The Slide Inn Numbering System

We receive a surprising amount of calls asking why we sharpie numbers on Whiting’s backers. Our numbers have nothing to do with feather quality nor are they a ranking of our favorites. We include them to identify feathers and allow customers can pick the individual cape or saddle they want, rather than getting one amongst a pile of hackles that have the same line, grade, and color but are certainly not the same.

Conclusion: The Art of Hackle Grading

Whiting Dry Fly hackle is the result of years of careful breeding and genetic engineering. By focusing on key elements like feather count, length, and barbular count Tom Whiting and his team have created some of the finest dry fly hackles available today regardless of which grade you go with. When deciding which grade to go with, the main question I’d ask myself is “how many flies do I want to produce in this color?” 

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