There is much more to fly tying these days than just feathers and fur. As a fly shop owner, I can tell you based on firsthand experience that the use of traditional materials such as "hackle-style" feathers, buck tail, calf tail, natural fur dubbings, etc., has dropped considerably. Conversely, the myriad of modern synthetic tying materials and the newer entries to the world of naturals such as CDC, rabbit strips, wool, etc., are becoming more and more popular.

One the biggest changes I have seen is in regard to "hackle-style" feathers. Once the backbone of fly tying, sales of traditional "hackle-style" feathers is declining steadily (as a percentage of overall sales) at both the national and local level. In fact, New England and the Middle Atlantic (NY, PA, etc.) may represent the last stronghold for traditional hackle. This is the direct result of both new synthetic materials and new uses for natural materials.

For example, in the world of streamers (a New England staple) where feathers and buck tail once ruled the roost, marabou has become every bit as popular and rabbit, long popular out west, is gaining acceptance at an amazing rate. In fact, while I do fish streamers on a regular basis, I no longer use traditional feather streamers and seldom use buck tails. All of my personal streamers are tied with marabou, rabbit strips or some synthetic material.

In the case of marabou, it is cheaper, easier to tie with, and holds up better than traditional hackle (especially when cast vs. trolled). As for rabbit, when properly tied on, it is virtually indestructible and holds up even under the most extreme conditions (e.g., toothy prey, rapid fire casting from a drift boat, etc.) In addition, in my opinion streamers tied with either marabou or rabbit offer a much more life-like action than those tied with feathers.

As for dries, while "Catskill" style were once by far the most common choice, parachutes, comparaduns, spinners, and CDC's are not standard fair. In the case of comparaduns, with the exception of the tail (and that is not always the case), no feathers are used at all; coastal deer hair replaces the hackle. In regard to spinners, I see far more synthetic wings then I do feather wings. CDC on the other hand although technically a feather is by no means a traditional hackle.

Much like streamers, while I do still use some "Catskill" style dries, I use far more comparaduns, spinners and CDC's then anything else. As a matter of fact, I will argue that a comparadun, spinner or CDC style dry fly will out fish a traditional dry fly in almost all circumstances. I have even gone as far as to eliminate hackle from my caddis patterns to give the a lower profile and in some cases replaced the Elk hair wing with synthetics such as poly yarn.

Even where hackle-style feathers are still used, rather than pulling two to three matching feathers to create a dry fly, you can now get multiple flies out of a single hackle! With genetic saddle hackles such as those offered by Whiting Farms (available in full and half saddles and convenient pre-sized "100 Packs"), you now can get quality feathers that are almost a foot long and with consistent length hackles from end to end.

Dubbings have changed as well. While all-natural dubbings such as those made from rabbit and beaver are still used, many of the most popular dubbings sold today are made from synthetics or synthetic/natural blends. For example, many tiers have gone to extra fine synthetic blends such as Sprit River's "Find & Dry" for dry flies. As for natural/synthetic blends, I would argue that Hareline's "HareTron" (a blend of rabbit and Antron) is the best choice available for caddis.

While synthetic dubbings such as Antron have been around for a long time, new comers such as Hareline's "Quick Descent" (made from aluminum fibers!) and Spirit River's "Lite-Brite" (made from shredded Mylar) offer the tier some real advantages over traditional dubbings in regard to weight and flash. Synthetic dubbings have become so popular that they are even making synthetic blends such as Spirit Rivers "Mottled Nymph Blend" which contains 4 types of fibers.

Where Deer Hair once was the standard (e.g., sculpin patterns, large extended body dries, etc.), materials such as Ram's Wool and foam are now gaining popularity. Not only have I gone exclusively to wool for my sculpin patterns due to its density and natural feel, my most successful "Hex" pattern this past summer had a foam extended body. Even rubber legs (long a western standard) have gained popularity here in the northeast and justifiably so - they work!

As for streamer bodies and ribbing, while Mylar tubing has been a standard for many patterns, spooled materials such as Hareline's "Diamond Braid" are easier to work with and I believe, much more visible and durable. Where silver and gold tinsel were once our only option for ribbing, we now have holographic (in silver, gold, red, etc.),pearlescent and "mirage" (which takes on the color of the surrounding materials!) tinsels in a broad range of sizes.

Even wire, a standard in many types of flies is not what it once was. You can now get varnished wire down to hair-like diameters that will not tarnish and "Ultra Wire" sold by Wapsi comes in four sizes and twenty-four colors! While Antron and Polypropylene yarn were once our only choice for shucks and tails, we now have dozens of similar products such Umpqua's "Z-Lon" (available in straight or kinky fibers) and for the small fly enthusiast, Spirit Rivers "Micro Poly Yarn".

As for flash, old staple "Flashabou" now comes in over fifty colors including "Glow-in-the-Dark", and my personal favorite "Krystal Flash" (a stiff, fine and kinky fiber) offers the tier roughly forty-five options! There are now colored hooks such as Daiichi's red "1273" nymph hook (think midges), hooks in lengths, shapes and sizes to imitate any food source, and an almost limitless plastic, glass, metal and tungsten beads in all sizes, shapes and colors.

Add to that vinyl "Scud Back" to imitate the shell of fresh and saltwater crustaceans, "Thin Skin" to imitate wing cases, "Vinyl Rib" for realistic nymph bodies, "Micro Fibetts" for tails and antennas, pre-stripped and dyed quills for bodies, tiny glass "Rattles" to give your fly some noise, electric Glue Guns to make realistic eggs, rubber "wiggle tails" (think "Mr. Twister"!), etc., and you can tie patterns to imitate almost anything that flies, crawls, tumbles or swims!

With winter here and tying to be done, head to your nearest fly shop and try some of these new products for yourself. In addition, don't be afraid to experiment with materials and patterns long considered too "western" for our eastern waters. While it may take some getting used to, catching brookies on leeches tied with "Mohair Yarn" or "Rabbit Strips" doesn't feel any different then catching brookies on traditional Hornbergs or Mickey Finns!