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Large feather rooster saddles are different beasts. Here are some tips on buying them.

Some tips on getting your hands on good skin bits

The quick guide to buying marabou feathers that are useful

The soft hackle is supposed to be - as the name implies - soft. Soft hackle can come from many birds. Chickens, gamebirds like partridge, grouse and quail, pheasant and even crows and jackdaws.

Buying dry fly hackle without breaking the bank

Bucktail is a useful and inexpensive material. This is how you get the best

This article is about buying fly-tying materials. Lately when I have been shopping I have noticed a large difference in quality - even between materials of the same brand and price. Looking thoroughly can make a big difference. The same product from the same manufacturer at the same price can vary, and knowing what to look for can mean getting good and useful, and not the downright lousy.

I have always been annoyed by most commercially available zonker strips. Most of them are far too large and long haired for my use. 90% of all available strips are cut from rabbit, and in most cases they are both too wide in the skin and too long haired for anything but larger flies.