As always, thoroughly entertained and captivated by each and every video you upload Davie. May unfortunately sit in the sidelines for about a week or so due to the loss of my right index finger, go figure the dominant hand, but it will not be long at all before I’ll be behind my vise. I have spent the last two days back and forth in hospital to finish up surgeries, but I can’t say thanks enough for all of the entertainment, education, and instruction that that I got during that time. I think I’ve just about seen every video you have uploaded Now, however I forgot to stop each one to give them all the thumbs up that they deserve, so if nothing else, it’s an excuse to watch them all again. Ps. The wife wasn’t thrilled when she realized that I had commandeered her hair drier and had been keeping it well hidden at the fly tying bench lol. I tried to blame you but she wasn’t having any of it. I know I’ve mentioned this before, but need to continue telling you, “Thanks for all you do for the fly tying and fishing community”.
Also, I’m kind of kicking my own tail after watching this video. When I first started tying about a year or so ago, I purchased a handful of Indian cock capes from my local fly shop down the road, but found myself frustrated with my materials as most young and new tyers do, and I really started to believe that the more I got into this art form and mostly my winter past time while waiting for the water to be crowded enough that if I were to fall I would receive some assistance, that I would just simply need to invest in the better quality capes and saddles in order to be able to get the end result that I at least in my mind at the time, felt that I could do. I began by setting up a monthly budget with my wife, and made sure that my expenditures wouldn’t hurt or take away from my family on a retired military/disabled budget. I figured that I would start myself high the first month as we all understood that more would be required at first, and I assumed just based off of the known cost of those Indian necks that the Whiting and Metz genetic hackle wouldn’t be too much more, they were feathers after all. I should have known better, but I set out with about $400 US in my pocket and took a return trip to the fly shop so that I could find all of those beautiful feathers, dubbing blends, hair, fur, and of course cdc that I had decided that I absolutely couldn’t live without for one more month. Let me also make mention that I had to incorporate a new rotary vise and I figured it would be nice to get a more comfortable bobbin to use due to my combat injuries, and I just had to have one of the adjustable tension models. Boy did I learn a few lessons that day to say the least, and my wife learned a lesson as well, and more than likely the owner of the store although he has never let on. Showing up with a notebook full of lists of a hundred items was overwhelming for all of us, including said proprietor who was running from room to room and upstairs and back down to steadily keep scratching through those items. About halfway into the spree, the wife decided she wanted to see where I was sitting roughly and it’s a good thing we did. I wound up $200 over budget and hadn’t even cleared a quarter of the page. Finally a gentleman that was a mutual friend of both the shop owner and myself enlightened me a bit. His explanation was to pace myself as this will become a lifelong obsession if I were to remain dedicated to it for very long, and it sometimes takes folks a lifetime to acquire what the beginner sees stacked up around someones bench in a tying video, or that the individual tying for some of the magazines that are actually still in print had photographs of. For some reason, even though this is fully understood when speaking about some of my other pass times and interests, I hadn’t given it much thought because after all they were just feathers. I’ve got quite a collection of genetic dry fly capes and saddles available to me now from Whiting, Metz, Keogh, and some others that were collected from shows, and I have gotten into enough trouble at home now for buying multiples of primarily the same size saddles that look just about as close to identical as the one that were stowed away at home, and as soon as the wife picked up on that fact, everything was pulled out, organized, repackaged, and hung at my bench from industrial aluminum pegboard. Once the capes and saddles had been separated she made me put them I. An order that made more sense to me such as size and color, and then she had me photograph each one so that I would always have images to compare from my phone if I couldn’t recall what I had sitting at home, hanging on the pegboard, and now stuffed in filing cabinets, a storage totes. Now, before she lets me ever leave the house again to go to the shop, she will always make me trade out my banking charge card with a prepaid card that we used for rainy days, and she still has to give me a strict limit to stick to, because I’m a sucker for hackle. I say all of that to say this: after purchasing all of the nice genetic hackle, I decided that I no longer needed the cheaper or less valuable feathers and therefore I donated almost all of the capes and saddles to Veteran non profits where people like myself could benefit from them and I also donated some of the capes to a group of college age kids that once helped pull me from the river. Anyhow, after I had really just kind of gotten used to paying a certain price for a certain level of quality in them, and had used them for much of the really valuable stages of my beginning and probably most important tying lessons, I now am noticing that finding those very same Indian and Chinese necks and saddles is not nearly as easy as it has been a year and a half ago. I truly wish that I had held on to some of them as you tend to learn a lot more when things are a bit more difficult or challenging, although at times it can be challenging enough. #Davie McPhail, I would love to see a future video that maybe not only shows some of the materials that you have in your collection, but possibly a video that explains what you look for primarily when you go out to purchase let’s say a cape, and then you could discuss possibly the upkeep, care, maintenance, possible storage, and organization that you go through yourself to ensure that you are able to use what it is that you have collected over the years. Possibly, we could discuss in your mind what the beginning fly tyer may want to consider purchasing, but also remind those that like myself may believe that we have to spend a fortune on the materials in order to be able to pull quality flies consistently of the vise. I know that I would have truly benefited had I just slowed down, purchased only what would have been needed for say three patterns that I found interesting, and just tyed until I had gotten it. Thank God for your videos as I think the wife believes I may be alright at tying flies now, she definitely likes the peace she gets when I get to go out on the water, and maybe she isn’t as irritable as she once was about the investment into “animal left overs”, although you are still responsible for that hair dryer. Keep up the amazing work!
Morning Mike, I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your finger but as you said you will be back tying very soon...I'm glad you find the videos very helpful and entertaining and as you have borrowed the good ladies hairdryer and with Christmas just around the corner then I'm sure she will forgive you when you buy her a new one..I'm lucky that my wife and daughter need a new one every so often so I get the hand me downs..Keep well and keep in touch and let me know how recovery goes.. All the very best Davie..
Great to see, thank you Davie and - like others - I love these videos about materials and their preparation. These days, Chinese capes are mostly sold for their large hackles. Back in the late 70's a friend and I spent many happy hours at Dermot Wilson's renowned tackle store in Nether Wallop Mill, where he was happy for us to sort thru tea chests packed full of Chinese cock capes in all conceivable natural colours and qualities. We found, and bought, many fine capes suitable for dry and other flies: all the reds, creams and gingers; bicolours like badger, furnace and greenwells - and I even found a lovely honey dun - the only cape I've ever seen in this exceedingly rare bicolour colouration. But they took some finding; we searched through many hundreds of capes to find the best examples. That is, good quality with well shaped small hackles and without the very common chalky reverse sides so common in the native reds, in particular. I can't remember the prices Dermot was asking, but it certainly wasn't high. A feature of every one of those capes was the exquisite quality of the preparation. The skins were perfectly symmetrical and perfectly scraped down to parchment-like, almost transparent thinness; beautifully clean and flexible. Little pin holes evenly spaced all round the edge where they'd been stretched to dry. They were far better than modern genetic capes in that respect, and Indian capes, with their thick, crudely prepared skins, are horrible things in comparison. I still have and use many of those capes and I just wish that Dermot, lovely chap that he was, was still there in that lovely old mill building. I still dream of those big square tea chests packed with capes, and the excitement of hunting through them to find the best ones. Happy days!
Morning Roger, I remember many days like this myself and you brought it all back to me, you described the capes perfectly.. I would have loved to have been there myself even today as I still have a Chinese Honey Dun and it was like winning the lottery finding one, the Indian capes are not as good but they do get you by...Thank you for taking the time to share your memories which I am sure like myself many will remember fondly doing the same.. All the very best Davie..
I enjoyed your info on the capes davie . I found when i first started tying esp dryflies Genetic capes where expensive so i tied with indian rooster capes . The flies weren't too pretty lol but they floated just long enough to catch a fish. Lol
Hey Davie, do you maintain the capes and saddles? I have heard that if a tyer does not maintain the capes and saddles, the feathers become brittle and break during tying. Is this right? Greetz Harry
Hi Harry, I do in a way look after my materials as I keep them dry and clean and in containers and not lying around..I have materials which are over 100 years old and are still in perfect condition which I use for classic salmon and trout flies.. Just keep your materials in the packaging it comes with and they should be fine though always keep an eye on them and if you see debris you could have something feeding on them like moth larvae or mites, I use cedar balls in my materials which helps to stop this happening.. All the very best Davie..
Hi Kerry, I buy a lot of the Chinese capes I have from Veniards as they still have them at times so any shop that stocks their materials should be able to help you.. www.veniard.com/veniard-chinese-cock-necks/p/695 All the very best Davie
Hi Fly Rider, After dyeing the capes I staple it onto a sheet of kitchen towel and cardboard and leave it until it's completely dry which should take around a week to do before I would remove it..The cape will be flat and dry ready to be used just like the magenta cape I held up that I recently dyed..I'm going to be doing a video on dyeing a cape soon so I'll be showing this in the video.. All the very best Davie
@@DavieMcPhail Hello Davie, Thank you for explaining your method! I bought a Metz saddle recently, which I intend to dye sunburst as shown in your videos and use the feathers to tie loch flies. I was wondering how to dry the skin after finishing the dying process without crumpling it. I'm looking forward to your new video. Cheers, Fly Rider
Hi Serg Tang, I store them in zip bags as well as in large plastic tubs, keeping them dry is important so I never throw away the small bags that soak up the moisture in any new electrical goods and other items.. All the very best Davie..
It's always good to see the materials used, you should just make it a series ans talk about materials and tools. It will be of interest to all and a great resource for people getting into the game. I can listen to you talk about anything fishing related so don't be shy buddy just talk and give your input. Always gonna be watched.
Hi Davie great video as always. I have an unrelated question. My son just came home from a market and has bought me 2 squirrel tails dyed olive ish with yellow tips. What flies can I used them for, for UK trout? I have only seen tails used in larger salmon etc so at a loss. Any help appreciated.
I’ve just started using the Veniard and Jacquard acid dyes, been having pretty good results with rabbit. Wanted to practice on something cheap before I started dipping feathers lol.
Veniards make or distribute great dyes as well as a company by the name of RIT where they can be found at many craft stores that keep them with fabric craft items as that is their intended use. The RIT dyes aren’t as brilliant as the dyes carried by Veniard, however they are color fast, water safe, there are a ton of colors that they have available in most of the craft stores so you can take it home today and tinker. As far as the dyes not being as brilliant, it just meant that I had to adjust the dyes concentration through some testing, and because the RIT dyes are more cost effective, it wasn’t really a big deal. I started out by playing with a natural light dun cape that I wanted to take to golden olive, and as Dave has mentioned in past videos, by taking a dun and dying it with a yellow or chartreuse dye, it will go to olive. I just pulled a few matching feathers from different locations of the cape and placed a series of three to five feathers in each measured volume of dye and liquid. Once I figured out the desired ratio I just took a deep breath and popped the cape in the pot. I set the dye with vinegar when it reached the appropriate color and then washed in warm soapy water for a minute or so before patting it to damp with paper towels and then finished drying with my wife’s hair dryer. Dave has a video showing how he preps and goes through the process using CDC feathers, but I followed the same process. Hopefully this is helpful to you?
I'm in the United States where do you get your dyes for dying capes ? I wanna experiment with some different materials like pheasant, duck feathers, ect, ect , very informative video too.
Hi Fly Tying, The dyes I use come from a wholesale company called Veniards so if you know a company that stocks their materials then they should be able to help you.. All the very best Davie
Another interesting look into your collection, I even had to call the wife in to let her see that you do need a biggish collection of capes and saddles 😉👍. You said about the yellow neck you were going to dye it orange , would you use an orange dye or would you use a pink dye ? 2ndly I have always wondered why do you never see Chinese hen capes ? Is there particular reason ? Thanks again Davie
As always, thoroughly entertained and captivated by each and every video you upload Davie. May unfortunately sit in the sidelines for about a week or so due to the loss of my right index finger, go figure the dominant hand, but it will not be long at all before I’ll be behind my vise. I have spent the last two days back and forth in hospital to finish up surgeries, but I can’t say thanks enough for all of the entertainment, education, and instruction that that I got during that time. I think I’ve just about seen every video you have uploaded Now, however I forgot to stop each one to give them all the thumbs up that they deserve, so if nothing else, it’s an excuse to watch them all again.
Ps. The wife wasn’t thrilled when she realized that I had commandeered her hair drier and had been keeping it well hidden at the fly tying bench lol. I tried to blame you but she wasn’t having any of it.
I know I’ve mentioned this before, but need to continue telling you, “Thanks for all you do for the fly tying and fishing community”.
Also, I’m kind of kicking my own tail after watching this video. When I first started tying about a year or so ago, I purchased a handful of Indian cock capes from my local fly shop down the road, but found myself frustrated with my materials as most young and new tyers do, and I really started to believe that the more I got into this art form and mostly my winter past time while waiting for the water to be crowded enough that if I were to fall I would receive some assistance, that I would just simply need to invest in the better quality capes and saddles in order to be able to get the end result that I at least in my mind at the time, felt that I could do. I began by setting up a monthly budget with my wife, and made sure that my expenditures wouldn’t hurt or take away from my family on a retired military/disabled budget. I figured that I would start myself high the first month as we all understood that more would be required at first, and I assumed just based off of the known cost of those Indian necks that the Whiting and Metz genetic hackle wouldn’t be too much more, they were feathers after all. I should have known better, but I set out with about $400 US in my pocket and took a return trip to the fly shop so that I could find all of those beautiful feathers, dubbing blends, hair, fur, and of course cdc that I had decided that I absolutely couldn’t live without for one more month. Let me also make mention that I had to incorporate a new rotary vise and I figured it would be nice to get a more comfortable bobbin to use due to my combat injuries, and I just had to have one of the adjustable tension models.
Boy did I learn a few lessons that day to say the least, and my wife learned a lesson as well, and more than likely the owner of the store although he has never let on. Showing up with a notebook full of lists of a hundred items was overwhelming for all of us, including said proprietor who was running from room to room and upstairs and back down to steadily keep scratching through those items. About halfway into the spree, the wife decided she wanted to see where I was sitting roughly and it’s a good thing we did. I wound up $200 over budget and hadn’t even cleared a quarter of the page. Finally a gentleman that was a mutual friend of both the shop owner and myself enlightened me a bit. His explanation was to pace myself as this will become a lifelong obsession if I were to remain dedicated to it for very long, and it sometimes takes folks a lifetime to acquire what the beginner sees stacked up around someones bench in a tying video, or that the individual tying for some of the magazines that are actually still in print had photographs of. For some reason, even though this is fully understood when speaking about some of my other pass times and interests, I hadn’t given it much thought because after all they were just feathers.
I’ve got quite a collection of genetic dry fly capes and saddles available to me now from Whiting, Metz, Keogh, and some others that were collected from shows, and I have gotten into enough trouble at home now for buying multiples of primarily the same size saddles that look just about as close to identical as the one that were stowed away at home, and as soon as the wife picked up on that fact, everything was pulled out, organized, repackaged, and hung at my bench from industrial aluminum pegboard. Once the capes and saddles had been separated she made me put them I. An order that made more sense to me such as size and color, and then she had me photograph each one so that I would always have images to compare from my phone if I couldn’t recall what I had sitting at home, hanging on the pegboard, and now stuffed in filing cabinets, a storage totes. Now, before she lets me ever leave the house again to go to the shop, she will always make me trade out my banking charge card with a prepaid card that we used for rainy days, and she still has to give me a strict limit to stick to, because I’m a sucker for hackle.
I say all of that to say this: after purchasing all of the nice genetic hackle, I decided that I no longer needed the cheaper or less valuable feathers and therefore I donated almost all of the capes and saddles to Veteran non profits where people like myself could benefit from them and I also donated some of the capes to a group of college age kids that once helped pull me from the river. Anyhow, after I had really just kind of gotten used to paying a certain price for a certain level of quality in them, and had used them for much of the really valuable stages of my beginning and probably most important tying lessons, I now am noticing that finding those very same Indian and Chinese necks and saddles is not nearly as easy as it has been a year and a half ago. I truly wish that I had held on to some of them as you tend to learn a lot more when things are a bit more difficult or challenging, although at times it can be challenging enough.
#Davie McPhail, I would love to see a future video that maybe not only shows some of the materials that you have in your collection, but possibly a video that explains what you look for primarily when you go out to purchase let’s say a cape, and then you could discuss possibly the upkeep, care, maintenance, possible storage, and organization that you go through yourself to ensure that you are able to use what it is that you have collected over the years. Possibly, we could discuss in your mind what the beginning fly tyer may want to consider purchasing, but also remind those that like myself may believe that we have to spend a fortune on the materials in order to be able to pull quality flies consistently of the vise. I know that I would have truly benefited had I just slowed down, purchased only what would have been needed for say three patterns that I found interesting, and just tyed until I had gotten it. Thank God for your videos as I think the wife believes I may be alright at tying flies now, she definitely likes the peace she gets when I get to go out on the water, and maybe she isn’t as irritable as she once was about the investment into “animal left overs”, although you are still responsible for that hair dryer.
Keep up the amazing work!
Hope your better soon. I’m disabled with my back and can only tie in half hour segments..Stay positive and tie when you can my Brother. Get well soon.
Morning Mike,
I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your finger but as you said you will be back tying very soon...I'm glad you find the videos very helpful and entertaining and as you have borrowed the good ladies hairdryer and with Christmas just around the corner then I'm sure she will forgive you when you buy her a new one..I'm lucky that my wife and daughter need a new one every so often so I get the hand me downs..Keep well and keep in touch and let me know how recovery goes..
All the very best Davie..
As the guy said on the last video, my wife say's I've got plenty. I'm spoiled for choice really, and sometimes I use feathers off them both.
Great to see, thank you Davie and - like others - I love these videos about materials and their preparation. These days, Chinese capes are mostly sold for their large hackles. Back in the late 70's a friend and I spent many happy hours at Dermot Wilson's renowned tackle store in Nether Wallop Mill, where he was happy for us to sort thru tea chests packed full of Chinese cock capes in all conceivable natural colours and qualities. We found, and bought, many fine capes suitable for dry and other flies: all the reds, creams and gingers; bicolours like badger, furnace and greenwells - and I even found a lovely honey dun - the only cape I've ever seen in this exceedingly rare bicolour colouration. But they took some finding; we searched through many hundreds of capes to find the best examples. That is, good quality with well shaped small hackles and without the very common chalky reverse sides so common in the native reds, in particular. I can't remember the prices Dermot was asking, but it certainly wasn't high.
A feature of every one of those capes was the exquisite quality of the preparation. The skins were perfectly symmetrical and perfectly scraped down to parchment-like, almost transparent thinness; beautifully clean and flexible. Little pin holes evenly spaced all round the edge where they'd been stretched to dry. They were far better than modern genetic capes in that respect, and Indian capes, with their thick, crudely prepared skins, are horrible things in comparison. I still have and use many of those capes and I just wish that Dermot, lovely chap that he was, was still there in that lovely old mill building. I still dream of those big square tea chests packed with capes, and the excitement of hunting through them to find the best ones. Happy days!
Morning Roger,
I remember many days like this myself and you brought it all back to me, you described the capes perfectly.. I would have loved to have been there myself even today as I still have a Chinese Honey Dun and it was like winning the lottery finding one, the Indian capes are not as good but they do get you by...Thank you for taking the time to share your memories which I am sure like myself many will remember fondly doing the same..
All the very best Davie..
I enjoyed your info on the capes davie . I found when i first started tying esp dryflies Genetic capes where expensive so i tied with indian rooster capes . The flies weren't too pretty lol but they floated just long enough to catch a fish. Lol
Love your videos as a fly tier my self .you keep me inspired . beautiful colours .and you are my hero .Tim from Australia .
Thanks Davie that has answered many questions for me.
Hey Davie, do you maintain the capes and saddles? I have heard that if a tyer does not maintain the capes and saddles, the feathers become brittle and break during tying. Is this right? Greetz Harry
Hi Harry,
I do in a way look after my materials as I keep them dry and clean and in containers and not lying around..I have materials which are over 100 years old and are still in perfect condition which I use for classic salmon and trout flies.. Just keep your materials in the packaging it comes with and they should be fine though always keep an eye on them and if you see debris you could have something feeding on them like moth larvae or mites, I use cedar balls in my materials which helps to stop this happening..
All the very best Davie..
Where does one find the smaller capes? Chinese or not I don't mind but I could use fifteen white ones. To me these are an important part of tying.
Hi Kerry,
I buy a lot of the Chinese capes I have from Veniards as they still have them at times so any shop that stocks their materials should be able to help you..
www.veniard.com/veniard-chinese-cock-necks/p/695
All the very best Davie
Thank you. I wondered if there was a different use for each. Good info to know that they can be used as I wish.
Thankyou for making this video Davie.
I enjoy watching all of your videos.
Aloha🌴🎣🏄♂️🐓🐓
Happy Thanksgiving🦃🦃
i enjoy your info videos kind of still nwe to tying so info is great. thanks
How do you dry the capes/necks after dying them yourself? Doesn't the skin start to rot afterwards?
Hi Fly Rider,
After dyeing the capes I staple it onto a sheet of kitchen towel and cardboard and leave it until it's completely dry which should take around a week to do before I would remove it..The cape will be flat and dry ready to be used just like the magenta cape I held up that I recently dyed..I'm going to be doing a video on dyeing a cape soon so I'll be showing this in the video..
All the very best Davie
@@DavieMcPhail Hello Davie,
Thank you for explaining your method! I bought a Metz saddle recently, which I intend to dye sunburst as shown in your videos and use the feathers to tie loch flies. I was wondering how to dry the skin after finishing the dying process without crumpling it. I'm looking forward to your new video.
Cheers,
Fly Rider
Davie, how do you store capes ?
Hi Serg Tang,
I store them in zip bags as well as in large plastic tubs, keeping them dry is important so I never throw away the small bags that soak up the moisture in any new electrical goods and other items..
All the very best Davie..
It's always good to see the materials used, you should just make it a series ans talk about materials and tools. It will be of interest to all and a great resource for people getting into the game. I can listen to you talk about anything fishing related so don't be shy buddy just talk and give your input. Always gonna be watched.
Hi Davie great video as always. I have an unrelated question. My son just came home from a market and has bought me 2 squirrel tails dyed olive ish with yellow tips. What flies can I used them for, for UK trout? I have only seen tails used in larger salmon etc so at a loss. Any help appreciated.
You can cut the fur off and use it as dubbing. That's pretty much the only thing I could imagine using them for when it comes to my kind of fishing.
Hi Dave what sort of dies do you use to dye these capes ..
I’ve just started using the Veniard and Jacquard acid dyes, been having pretty good results with rabbit. Wanted to practice on something cheap before I started dipping feathers lol.
Veniards make or distribute great dyes as well as a company by the name of RIT where they can be found at many craft stores that keep them with fabric craft items as that is their intended use. The RIT dyes aren’t as brilliant as the dyes carried by Veniard, however they are color fast, water safe, there are a ton of colors that they have available in most of the craft stores so you can take it home today and tinker. As far as the dyes not being as brilliant, it just meant that I had to adjust the dyes concentration through some testing, and because the RIT dyes are more cost effective, it wasn’t really a big deal. I started out by playing with a natural light dun cape that I wanted to take to golden olive, and as Dave has mentioned in past videos, by taking a dun and dying it with a yellow or chartreuse dye, it will go to olive. I just pulled a few matching feathers from different locations of the cape and placed a series of three to five feathers in each measured volume of dye and liquid. Once I figured out the desired ratio I just took a deep breath and popped the cape in the pot. I set the dye with vinegar when it reached the appropriate color and then washed in warm soapy water for a minute or so before patting it to damp with paper towels and then finished drying with my wife’s hair dryer. Dave has a video showing how he preps and goes through the process using CDC feathers, but I followed the same process. Hopefully this is helpful to you?
Hi Alan,
I use Veniard dyes which I find the easiest to use and get the colours I like...ATB Davie..
@@DavieMcPhail thanks will try some out on some white rabbit skin I have..
@@catonfarm9757 cheers for the info will try them out..
I'm in the United States where do you get your dyes for dying capes ? I wanna experiment with some different materials like pheasant, duck feathers, ect, ect , very informative video too.
Hi Fly Tying,
The dyes I use come from a wholesale company called Veniards so if you know a company that stocks their materials then they should be able to help you..
All the very best Davie
Another interesting look into your collection, I even had to call the wife in to let her see that you do need a biggish collection of capes and saddles 😉👍.
You said about the yellow neck you were going to dye it orange , would you use an orange dye or would you use a pink dye ?
2ndly I have always wondered why do you never see Chinese hen capes ? Is there particular reason ?
Thanks again Davie
Tired of being fooled. Most have feathers that are NOT usable. 3 years in? Learning to spot Good stuff ...
🇷🇺👍👍👍