Tan Grizzly

[gingerdun]

I found some old grizzly hen in my father's materials. It is dyed tan—the only grizzly in his collection that is not natural.

Hook: #12 Jim Bashline Wet Fly
Silk: Pearsall's gossamer ash
Hackle: grizzly hen dyed tan
Rib: silver wire
Abdomen: tan embroidery wool, single strand
Thorax: hare's cheek spun on ash with Clark block

[Mataura mayfly]

Sweet fly Lance.
Are you sure it is a dyed hackle and not a Honey Grizzle feather?
Nice "pre-tie" shot of the materials and that hook give the perfect vintage look. Very nicely tied and presented.

[gingerdun]

Thanks for posting, Jeff.
My father's handwriting on the envelope says "brown grizzly dyed."
If you have a source for natural grizzle hen, would you kindly share it with us?
I thought natural grizzly was only black, white and gray, sometime with slight hints of brown.

It's midnight here, and I have an 8:00 am class to teach. Signing off now.

Lance

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Lance,

Really nice. The color palette is perfect, at least on my computer screen, excellent proportions, wonderful hook choice. I too, like the pre-tie view of the materials. That is a lovely feather. Nicely dressed.

[Mataura mayfly]

Thanks for posting, Jeff.
My father's handwriting on the envelope says "brown grizzly dyed."
If you have a source for natural grizzle hen, would you kindly share it with us?
I thought natural grizzly was only black, white and gray, sometime with slight hints of brown.

It's midnight here, and I have an 8:00 am class to teach. Signing off now.

Lance

Lance, glad you are burning the candle at both ends to bring us such wonderful threads.
The handwriting will give it away, sorry to doubt it, but it does look like Honey Grizzle on my screen.
You want a source of natural Honey Grizzle hen? I am unsure, would have to search for it. Only stuff I have is in a pack of strung cock hackle and I have seen illustrations of it in various tying books, but do not have any hen at hand.

[cicvara]

-Everything was perfect. Of colors to work.Really nice.

[gingerdun]

The handwriting will give it away, sorry to doubt it, but it does look like Honey Grizzle on my screen.
You want a source of natural Honey Grizzle hen? I am unsure, would have to search for it. Only stuff I have is in a pack of strung cock hackle and I have seen illustrations of it in various tying books, but do not have any hen at hand.

This is interesting. I found a brown grizzly cape on the internet (see below, from The Feather Emporium), but no indication of whether it is dyed or natural. There was also an olive grizzly cape. If anybody knows more about these colored grizzly hens, please let me know, especially regarding natural v. dyed. This will be useful for the book.

Thanks to all for the comments.

Lance

[Old Hat]

I believe those are dyed Lance. You can find some naturally cream, tan, ginger or reddish grizzled hackle, but it is not very common and usually not of the greatest quality in my experience because it isn't generally raised for tying (easier to just dye the color you want). Often it is referred to as "barred" and not grizzled. You might find some quality hen from whiting every now and then with this marking, also you can spend some dough and go "cree". Conranch Hackle often has some naturally barred colors. I find most of the naturally barred colors are not as striking as the grizzly as the barring is often washed out a bit. If you see a colored feather like the one you used on your fly and the ones you describe above with that clear of barring they are usually dyed.

By the way that dyed grizzly feather you used on your fly is about as perfect a hen feather as you could get to tie soft hackles. Soft and slightly webby all the way through. Beautiful fly.

[letumgo]

Lance - Give Jim Slattery a call and tell him what you are looking for. He has a wide range if hen colors (see links below):

I have a few of his "JimFlyCo" hen necks and they are really nice. The dye grizzly necks are especially nice.

http://www.jimsflyco.com/Whiting-hackle-color-wall.asp (scroll down to row 8 to see Jim's hens necks)
http://www.jimsflyco.com/jimsflyco-hackle/
http://www.jimsflyco.com/jimsflyco-hackle-page-2/
http://www.jimsflyco.com/Brahma-hen-hac ... addles.asp

[gingerdun]

Often it is referred to as "barred" and not grizzled. You might find some quality hen from whiting every now and then with this marking, also you can spend some dough and go "cree". Conranch Hackle often has some naturally barred colors. I find most of the naturally barred colors are not as striking as the grizzly as the barring is often washed out a bit. If you see a colored feather like the one you used on your fly and the ones you describe above with that clear of barring they are usually dyed.

Carl,
I was not aware of the fine distinctions between the definitions of grizzly, grizzle, barred, and cree. Could you (or somebody) spell it out for me. This hackle terminology is both interesting and confusing. The old terms badger and furnace still get some use, but not as much as they did 60 years ago.
Does anybody recommend a good glossary for such terms? Or want to take a stab at writing the definitions here?

And Ray,
Thanks for the links to Jim's site. He sent me the best grizzly cape I'd ever seen, but then my collie ate it. I'll order six more in different colors if I get lucky with the lottery this weekend.

Lance