Using Fly Tying Materials For Hair Decoration Phenomena.

This has been the hot button issue for fly tiers across the country this year. What are some of my fellow Lake-Linker's thoughts? Have you been able to find saddle hackles anywhere? Have you sold any of your feathers for profit? Is this a short lived fad? When do you think feathers will be available in stores again?

I am afraid to ask...

Have yet to notice any major run on marabou. Hopefully this merkin decorating fad doesn't hit SE Wisconsin.

Hair extensions are OUT ! Merkins are IN !! Guard your maraboo plumes fellas .....!

Ham25.. According to Whiting Farms they are recovering, I am sure the others are as well. Hopefully the prices will follow, I noticed that the pricing and supplies at the fly shops are still inflated and picking is pretty slim.

Well, like any fashion trend, it seems this one too is fading away. I see very few people with feathers in their hair and even fewer people looking to buy feathers for hair decoration. The big question now is, when will saddle hackles become more readily available in stores again?

Actually there are no saddles shown for sale except for the Multipacks.. They are all Necks..

Perusing the new 2012 Cabela's Fly Fishing catalog and noticed what was 2 pages of feathers(saddles) in 2011 is down to only 1/2 a page this year. The prices have all increased aswell. Keough Tyer's Grade Hackle is up $20!

Holy cow! I have literally thousands of dollars worth of saltwater saddles lying around.... If I can figure out who to sell them to, they are outta here!

http://www.hairfeathers.com/?gclid=CM_N_8-el6wCFQaFQAodLwRIOw

16 feathers for 20 bucks. Havent needed to buy a neck or saddle for a bit but doesnt this sound like they are getting the most out of this trend? How much is an entire neck/saddle these days??

Will do...

Thanks for sharing that Dave! Its interesting to see that a major hackle distributer like Whiting has devised a plan like this. Seems like a good idea for them to capitalize on the fashion sales trend, but keep the fly tiers happy aswell. Please keep updating if you hear anything further.

From Tom Whiting: Dear Whiting Farms Customer, Whiting Farms is experiencing an unprecedented onslaught of orders for our EuroHackle saddles. This is not just from the fashion world, but largely from the fly fishing pro shops that have new customers coming to them to buy our dry fly saddles for use in various fashion modes; hair weaves, ear rings, jewelry and crafts. This new traffic and business is welcome by the pro shops but we are faced with a real dilemma: orders vastly exceed supply! Understandably the shops that have put in orders to Whiting Farms, of any quantity, and are very keen to get them filled. But the number of saddles being ordered simply doesn’t exist. We wish we had as many saddles as everyone wanted. The crop of EuroHackle roosters to be harvested for 2011 is fixed and no changes can be made. Increases in production of this product line have and are being made, but the increasing numbers will be gradual and won’t really be seen until 2012! Therefore we have been intensely pondering how we can most equitably allocate what saddles we do have coming to harvest in 2011. The only fair way, I feel, is to divide and conquer. By this I mean we are going to disassemble our EuroHackle saddles and repackage them in a new product line called the “Whiting Fashion Pack”. Sixteen long feathers of a single color will be affixed on our branded board, very much like our Whiting 100 Packs, but not sized as to hook size. The suggested retail price will be $20.00 [...> Most of the customers wanting these fashion feathers are wanting to experiment and so the smaller quantities will be welcome and more appropriate. The lower price point will encourage them to possibly buy a range of colors or several packs. A full or even half EuroHackle saddle is usually too many feathers of only one color for any hobbyist anyway. In order to do this more fair allocation of our limited EuroHackle saddles we will have to cease selling full or half saddles as a product line. We are making an extra effort to keep our flagship Whiting dry fly saddles, and the new High and Dry saddles, in good stock to supply all the fly tier’s needs. We appreciate your understanding of these needed changes. Sincerely, Tom Whiting

@ Dave- Glad you saw the humor in my post. Your input, aswell as all others is very welcome. I find this a fascinating topic to follow.

I don't have much hair, but at least I am not running around with it on fire... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghzEd4WLUz4 I also just received a shipment of feathers from Whiting Farms.. no problems...