Whiting Farms Hebert Miner Bronze 1/2 Cape

Hebert Miner™ Dry Fly Hackle

This incredible dry fly hackle began its odyssey in 1954 when legendary Catskill fly tier Harry Darbee generously provided Andy Miner with some of his Darbee hackle stock hatching eggs. What resulted from this gift was a pivotal event and foundation for the future of genetic dry fly hackle. A Minnesota lawyer by profession Andy Miner was also a meticulous, patient soul and through judicious study, experimentation and perseverance bred a markedly better hackle rooster. In 1974 Ted Hebert of Laingsburg, Michigan obtained the best of the Miner hackle stock. For the next twenty plus years Ted Hebert continued the genetic selection as Andy Miner had taught him and further advanced the stock in pursuit of ever improving hackle quality and beautiful colors. In 1997 Tom Whiting, Ph.D., President of Whiting Farms, Inc., assumed stewardship of this superb gene pool. Dr. Whiting's goal is to preserve the inherent characteristics of this exceptional hackle stock while continuing the development and refinement of its hackle qualities and unique natural colors.

What you are holding in your hands is the product of a long and careful cultivation by several individuals, each dedicated to creating the finest dry fly hackle.

Each cape is carefully evaluated by the best professionals in

'the business- the Whiting Farms Grading Staff. They grade each pelt for the following items:

Fine, supple quills for neat, effortless wrapping.

•   Freedom from web... for more strength and less absorbency.
•   Uniform barb length... for optimal appearance and higher floating flies. High barb count... for more hackle per turn.
•   High barb strength... for maximum support on the water's surface.
•   A longer "sweet spot"... the area where prime hackle resides on a feather.
•   Full, generous pelts... for excellent value and econmy

Besides the great attributes listed above you can expect rich vibrant colors with high sheen in your Hebert Miner™M Hackle. Whiting Farms produces powerful browns and badgers, delicate creams and gingers, fishy variants, totally unique champagne™M and flecked patterns, and the widest array of natural duns ever seen.

As the specific sciences of genetic selection, nutrition and husbandry at Whiting Farms are all applied to this exceptional stock, the overall quality of the Hebert Miner™M Hackle will continue to improve. This higher plateau of quality demands a rethinking of how hackle is graded. No longer is the old grading system of 1, 2 or 3 appropriate; feathers from Whiting Farms are all of high quality. Rather an Olympic medal designation will more effectively guide fly tiers to their appropriate level of expenditure:

Bronze - Excellent quality and adequate for most all tying.

Silver - Additionally strong in the overall length and density of the feathers.

Gold - Extremely high quality and high density of feathers, with particular emphasis on the hard to find tiny midge size hackle sizes in the cape or extraordinary feather counts in the saddle. For the most demanding fly tier.

platinum - For the collector. The pinnacle of genetic progress. Rare.

Hebert Miner™M Hackle, exclusively from Whiting Farms, is a dry fly hackle of extraordinary quality; a premium product for the most discriminating fly tier and fly fisher.

Whiting Farms - committed to providing

THE finest feathers for the fly tiers of the world.