"Thomas Schreiber" wrote in message
...
Bill


Why you need one of those? When you bend your hackle around the hook, the
fibres should have the same length as the hookgap. No rules without
exceptions, but thats a good rule of thumb.

Tight lines
Thomas Schreiber - DK

And there are those who would state that(at least for dry flies) that the
hackle should be 1 1/2 times the length of the hookgap. Some Catskill tyers
actually use closer to a 2X size. Hence, gauges are, at best, rough
estimators of size needed, to be varied with the style and pattern of fly
tied.
Tom