Hackle prices

[1flyfisher]

I guess they have gone up in price?
I have not had to buy new hackle for years so I am not aware of prices.
However I have a chick on my facebook friends and she is a beautician or whatever you call it. She used to have a hair cutting place up at tahoe City where she would take care of me.
There is tons of jabbering between these beauty salon broads about 'Plummage" and I now see pics of dyed purple or whatever hackle. and them wanting more, and where is my order, and what color can I get, blah blag blah.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Plumage-by-Liz/153362554711552

you know how women will spend any amount of $$$$ on beauty products, I can see how this would be killing hackle prices. I bet they will sky rocket if they haven't already.

[FlyReelFisher]

Spread the word, "the dying process does not remove or kill the fungal spores, fecal matter, or mites in the feathers." Beware of what you put in your, or your daughters hair.

[royewest]

I guess there's more than one way to raise hackles.

[lowersierra]

Bird Flu. Nuff said!

[Jeff Fisher]

Funny you mention that.......

I was in the Eureka Flyshop the other day and in walks two young women looking for the long skinny strands of grizzly hackle. The owner, Mike, said he was all out. He told me after they left that some lady came in two weeks ago and plopped down $7,000 cash.....yes thousand.......on hackle feathers and other stuff for beauty aids. Nearly cleaned out the whole store!

He said now every time he makes a new order with Whiting or whoever, the prices are double from the previous order. Which eventually comes out of our pockets.

[EricO]

Must be nice.........to have that kind of money. ;)

Sincerely,
Jack Klompus

[FlyReelFisher]

I hope the fly shops see their business plummet on feathers as they sell out the reasonably priced feathers to this fashion trend.

Somebody has to be punished for not standing up for us.

Anyone in the market for kidnapped genetic chickens? I'm making a run to china tonight. Only kidding.


I wonder if these girls knew the living conditions of the chickens, if they would still by the feathers. Arn't they vegetarians or vegans? Who knows a PETA person? Can we "sick" PETA on this trend?

Mike in Eureka only has a few years left. From what I hear he should be out business. He has some good material in there. Lets hope he sold all of his 20 year old feathers.....

P.S. Mike has told some outright lies to both me, and more than four people that I know.(He dosen't know we all know each other). I wouldn't be suprised if he sold his feathers on ebay for $300 a cape like everyone else is doing at fly shops(a guy at Lelands). How about you Kiene's guys? Are you buying capes and selling by the feather?

[Sammy]

My girlfriend has em
My brothers girlfriend has em
our best friends wife has em
I think they look ridiculous
The ones my g/f have in her hair are PERFECT for tying.

Stock up now cuz this trend will likely go on for another 8 months

[aaron]

I hope the fly shops see their business plummet on feathers as they sell out the reasonably priced feathers to this fashion trend.

Somebody has to be punished for not standing up for us.

Anyone in the market for kidnapped genetic chickens? I'm making a run to china tonight. Only kidding.


I wonder if these girls knew the living conditions of the chickens, if they would still by the feathers. Arn't they vegetarians or vegans? Who knows a PETA person? Can we "sick" PETA on this trend?

Mike in Eureka only has a few years left. From what I hear he should be out business. He has some good material in there. Lets hope he sold all of his 20 year old feathers.....

P.S. Mike has told some outright lies to both me, and more than four people that I know.(He dosen't know we all know each other). I wouldn't be suprised if he sold his feathers on ebay for $300 a cape like everyone else is doing at fly shops(Will at Lelands). How about you Kiene's guys? Are you buying capes and selling by the feather?

Walter, get a life. Stop bitching or we'll ban you...again. I'm tired of hearing it.

[EricO]

Why do you post questions that you already know the answer to?

Good riddance.

[1flyfisher]

I doubt they would care. They put silicone in their breasts and lips and ass implants, and all sorts of wacked out shit to try and look attractive and boost their self esteem botox injections, and face lifts......dirty rooster feathers in their hair would be no problem.....so long as they think it makes them more attractive.
Whiting Farms and hackle producers are making a killing.
Flyfisherman are screwed.



Spread the word, "the dying process does not remove or kill the fungal spores, fecal matter, or mites in the feathers." Beware of what you put in your, or your daughters hair.

[waynesyn]

I don't see why anyone needs to be "punished for not standing up for us". It's a free market and it's a fad and it will pass. A lot of fly shops are struggling so if they can get a little more here and there with out being dishonest or doing anything illegal, all the power to them. I bet most fly tyers have lots of feathers left on their saddle and capes to last until the fad is over.
50% of my staff have feathers in their hair... supplied by my fly tying stash of course.





I hope the fly shops see their business plummet on feathers as they sell out the reasonably priced feathers to this fashion trend.

Somebody has to be punished for not standing up for us.

Anyone in the market for kidnapped genetic chickens? I'm making a run to china tonight. Only kidding.


I wonder if these girls knew the living conditions of the chickens, if they would still by the feathers. Arn't they vegetarians or vegans? Who knows a PETA person? Can we "sick" PETA on this trend?

Mike in Eureka only has a few years left. From what I hear he should be out business. He has some good material in there. Lets hope he sold all of his 20 year old feathers.....

P.S. Mike has told some outright lies to both me, and more than four people that I know.(He dosen't know we all know each other). I wouldn't be suprised if he sold his feathers on ebay for $300 a cape like everyone else is doing at fly shops(a guy at Lelands). How about you Kiene's guys? Are you buying capes and selling by the feather?

[Jeff Fisher]

Actually, from what I understand is there are only like 3 entities that raise these particular birds for those long hackle strands. These birds are not treated like their doomed brethren at Foster Farms. I understand that they live the high life! No cages, good grub, and they are treated very well.

[trinity]

Haha, flyreelfisher is wjorg!? I'm glad Mike didn't tell you sh@#! Mike is a cool dude and his store is a cool old school fly shop. You can bs with him for hours if he trusts you, otherwise he is pretty savvy to blabbermouths just prying for info.

About the hackle supply, its gotta be just a matter of time before the ladies get tired of feathers in their hair, the prices and supply will come back.

[Black Cloud]

This fad started in Feb with Steven Tyler of American Idol,let's hope it has a short lifespan.

[aaron]

It started loooooooong before Steven Tyler.

[Mike O]

I don't see why anyone needs to be "punished for not standing up for us". It's a free market and it's a fad and it will pass. A lot of fly shops are struggling so if they can get a little more here and there with out being dishonest or doing anything illegal, all the power to them. I bet most fly tyers have lots of feathers left on their saddle and capes to last until the fad is over.
50% of my staff have feathers in their hair... supplied by my fly tying stash of course.

+1. Good for business is good for all of us, as the shops make it through this "recovery" period of the recession, and any possible double dip *knocks on wood*...they will still be there for us later.

I just hope that the shops can hack it later when the fad is over and they had to overpay for hackles from the farms during this time. Will they be able to drop prices back down to pre-fad prices and still be able to make money on hackle?

[jbird]

I hope the fly shops see their business plummet on feathers as they sell out the reasonably priced feathers to this fashion trend.

Somebody has to be punished for not standing up for us.

Anyone in the market for kidnapped genetic chickens? I'm making a run to china tonight. Only kidding.


I wonder if these girls knew the living conditions of the chickens, if they would still by the feathers. Arn't they vegetarians or vegans? Who knows a PETA person? Can we "sick" PETA on this trend?

Mike in Eureka only has a few years left. From what I hear he should be out business. He has some good material in there. Lets hope he sold all of his 20 year old feathers.....

P.S. Mike has told some outright lies to both me, and more than four people that I know.(He dosen't know we all know each other). I wouldn't be suprised if he sold his feathers on ebay for $300 a cape like everyone else is doing at fly shops(a guy at Lelands). How about you Kiene's guys? Are you buying capes and selling by the feather?


Walter, get a life. Stop bitching or we'll ban you...again. I'm tired of hearing it.

LOL I thought the posting ettiquet looked familiar :-/

Its a shame for us fly tyers, but if I was a businessman and suddenly my product increased in value 1000% Id be a bit stoked. Especially if I had lots of back inventory. Just sayin...

[aaron]

Weird thing is Walter is actually a pretty decent dude in person. Pretty sure he has another alias on here so hopefully he get's the message and can be civil.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

It is only the very long thin grizzly saddle hackle that they are interested in that seemed to always be a little to expensive for fly tiers, even a few years ago.

Mostly used for small woolly buggers like the ones that Jay Fair made popular for still-water fishing.

They are very selective so there are still plenty of other hackle out here that the hair dressers are not interested in.

And yes, in a few years it will not be popular and go away.

[1flyfisher]

So is this hair thing affecting "ALL" hackle prices?
Have distributors and in turn flyshops jacked up the price on all hackle?

It would seem that if lots of birds are being raised and wacked for the long thin hackle(which is what is in demand) it would create a glut of other hackle. Are the costs savings being passed on to flyfishers or are we getting screwed.

The long hackle like that isn't premium stuff is it?.....what size would that be? #12+

What about the premium hackle for smaller sizes like #22 midges to #16 callibaetis patterns?


The hackle I have for tying griffith's gnats and midges 20-18 and mayflies #16 is very short only a few inches long.


Well the girls are making some money selling this to hair salons and the salons are making money jacking up the price to their customers.
Seems like simple economics, supply either must increase to meet demand or prices will rise.
Suppliers must be making a KILLING!
Good opportunity if you have some land to raise some birds.
Maybe I'll go into the chicken farm business. Hackle and fried chicken.

Steven Tyler hackled up.
http://entertainment.blogs.foxnews.com/2011/05/26/liv-tyler-convinced-to-get-naked-in-film-for-the-first-time-in-15-years/?test=faces
Old Aerosmith from the 70's was excellent. Toys in the Attic, Rocks, Get your Wings.

[jbird]

Maybe I'll go into the chicken farm business. Hackle and fried chicken..

You sure about that?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWXgtJP1IPs&NR=1

[1flyfisher]

I just went to get my hair cut today.
My hair cutting girl told me she was online this am trying to hunt down hackle feathers on ebay. 15,000 other folks were looking to buy hackle for hair.
$2 for 1 strand of hackle is the going rate here in reno.
She says as much as $3-5 elsewhere.
Grizzly and pink are the hot colors in highest demand.

[Mike O]

I just went to get my hair cut today.
My hair cutting girl told me she was online this am trying to hunt down hackle feathers on ebay. 15,000 other folks were looking to buy hackle for hair.
$2 for 1 strand of hackle is the going rate here in reno.
She says as much as $3-5 elsewhere.
Grizzly and pink are the hot colors in highest demand.

You sell her any? I would've!!

[wineslob]

Well guys, this "trend" has even hit the Chico area. I went into Chico Fly Shop because I had run out of Black, Furnace, and Dun capes after 20 years. :eek:

THE ENTIRE WALL OF CAPES WAS EMPTY. This isn't just Grizz that's disappearing, it's any "pretty" feather(s) these beauty shops think they can make a "killing" on. I was very lucky that the owner had an old Hoffman Super Cape (Furnace) that still had most of the #12 & #14 feathers in it (looked new) and after through grilling (not gonna sell it, are you?) gave me a kick ass deal.
Even my neighbors wife is trying to get in on the fad. She saw me tying up flies one night and just about had a heart attack. :razz: She actually snagged any quills I dropped on the floor.
I got lucky finding a Black, as a friend of mine was in Cabelas (Reno) and saw that they had capes (they won't sell to women) and picked me up a black #1 for 25 bucks. :-$
Like many others, I hope this "fad" dies out quickly.

[Mike O]

I wonder if Cabela's corporate offices know they are "not selling" product that people want, and are willing to pay for? I also wonder if "women" fly tyers are given the same treatment?

Heck, if I were a salon owner, I would hold a training on the terminology for my stylists, then send them out to buy product if we needed it. Just tell the fly shop owner that a friend just showed you how to tie flies, and you needed to get all set up.

This anxiousness (shall I even say, anger?) towards a market trend is kinda funny. So product is down for a while. Things will come back. We just need to come together and support each other during this time of need. Maybe there should be a barter section on the board, and a ride-share section? Combine both into a "recession" board? :)

[wineslob]

This anxiousness (shall I even say, anger?) towards a market trend is kinda funny. So product is down for a while.

One small problem, other than Cabela's, there are no capes to be found, anywhere. They have completely depleted the entire market.
I don't blame Cabela's for holding out for the fishermen. I applaud them.

[pgw]

Hackle Feathers in a woman's hair makes her butt look fat, not matter how artfully arranged.

Spread the Word!

(Attribution to Ed K on another board)

Paul

[1flyfisher]

How is cabela's not selling to women who walk in the store and grab hackle off the wall and walk to the register?

[1flyfisher]

yikes
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.153573541357120.27391.153362554711552

[wineslob]

How is cabela's not selling to women who walk in the store and grab hackle off the wall and walk to the register?

They would not sell the cape to my MiL, only her boyfriend. I believe the cashiers are told what to do.

[RenoMick]

I got lucky finding a Black, as a friend of mine was in Cabelas (Reno) and saw that they had capes (they won't sell to women) and picked me up a black #1 for 25 bucks.

WOW. Seems like the big C would be leaving themselves open for a discrimination suit from a disgruntled salon owner with a good attourney. Word in the industry, at least from the Metz contracted ranchers, is that the production vs. demand issues we're seeing now will be stabilized in 2 years.

In the meantime, I'm hand picking through my saddles now and headed to flea-bay. Really, how many purple and olive wolly buggers do I really need?