i am a beginner and everything i order is wrong. so please help me . If i buy hackle and its size #18 does that mean that i should use it on a size 18 hook when i tie a dry fly. and so on like a size 16 hackle and a size 16 hook and 14 hackle for 14 hook . cause i bought some hackle size 18 and man its so small i don't think i can use it and it means i bought another item that i cn't use .i wish i had a an experience fly fisher near by to hang out with and talk to and to lern from but i am on the coast of ncand the closest fly shop is 3 hors away and thank you for the information

i believe you are right in using size 18 hackle with size 18 hook and so forth.

You should do a google search for some local clubs in your area. Next check the local fly shops, i bet if you ask a question in there you'll get more information back than you bargained for. My experience is that guys (and gals) in fly shops are more than willing to answer questions and help folks out.
Even if you do most of your shopping online, it never hurts to be known in the local store. Eventually you get the 'local/regular customer' discount.

Most of all, dont be afraid to ask. We were all in your shoes at one point, and asking questions is the only way to get information.

This forum will certainly help too. Welcome to the world of fly fishing and fly tying

For goodness sake ask questions by all means! We all started at one time or other and I just wish I,d had this forum when I was starting out, but in those days computers were rare and the few that existed took up two or three Rooms. Most of us will willingly help as we know where you,re coming from and don,t worry-the question may seem silly to you, but if you are curious about something to do with fly tying or fishing then it,s Important to you and endeavour to get the answer-don,t be put off by a few members who tend to forget they had to start at the beginning, too.

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The scenery in the Grand Coulee area of eastern Washington was worth the air fare on its own!

Hi flysean, this may help with your hackle sizes.

Craig

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Welcome to the forum. As above just ask, someone will help. Don't worry about something you have bought that 'doesn't fit' we all do it . Put it away safe for another day cos sure as god made them apples you'll need it one day. Can't have to much tying stuff.

A rough rule of thumb with hackles is bend the hackle over the shank just above the hook point/barb if you have one, you want the hackle fibre to be just long enough to hang below the barb/point about 1/8 of an inch. Kinda depends on what size fly you're tying. Maybe a touch bigger but not shorter. That's not written in stone but a handy start point. When you go to buy some more 'stuff' contact one of the dealers on the forum and buy from them. Ask them to advise what's best. They are all really helpful and then you know it will be right. Probably pick up some useful info at the same time.

Chris.

You could buy a hackle gauge like this one from Lakeland and attach it to your vice.

You bend the hackle around the little silver post in the bottom left corner and match the hackle-tips against the number. Also has hook outlines in case you need to identify a hook-size.

Bit of a rip-off price-wise but probably useful for a beginner until you get your eye in

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Game fish are too valuable to be caught only once - Lee Wulff

just want to say thank you for everyone's advise. i have no flyshops around me i live on the coast and the only one 's i no of arearound 3-6 hours away. i head to the mountains to trout fish. and when i get there i talk to the fly shop. in waynesville nc. which is very useful. i also met a young man "69" who also helped me and told me to just ask when i get up there and he will take me ou to teach me . the only problem i have is i don't gt to go there enough. once a month from spring to fall.. but thanks again i will keep asking question.

Flysean,

In most cases, the advice you have been given is correct. But in some cases it is not.

In fly tying proportion is very important. Consider the hook as the skeleton upon which the fly is built, so the components must be in proportion to the hook.

For a standard dry fly, the body, tail and wings are of the same length. Since the shank of the hook determines the body length, it also determines the length of the wings and the tails. Since the palmered hackle on a dry fly represents the wing, the hackle should also equal the length of the hook.

However, hooks are not sized by their length; they are sized by the gape (gap in the colonies), the distance between the shank and the barb. Fortunately, for most standard dry fly hooks, there is a fixed ratio between the hook gape and the shank length. The shank is 1.5 times the gape. So for a standard dry fly hook, the hackle should be 1.5 times the hook gap and this is the length they will send you.

However, in some cases the sizing does not work. For example, when tying very small flies in tiny hooks, the hooking gape is so small that the barb can sometimes miss the fish. So for small flies I use 2XS (2 extra short) hooks. A size 20 2XS hook would have the a shank length of a size 22 hook but the gape of a size 20 hook. In this case, I would use a size 22 hackle that matches the length of the hook shank even though the hook is a size 20.

Similarly, some dry fly patterns call for an extra long dry fly hook. Again the appropriate hackle size would not match the hook size for a 2XL (2 extra long) hook body.

So match the length of the hackle to the length of the hook and not the "size" of the hook. Sometimes the sizing of the hackle is off so alway check before you tie.

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Silver Creek- "Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought"....Szent-Gyorgy