Signature Pelts

There aren't many articles or resources from which to draw guidance on how to breed hackle chickens. I listened intensely to Henry Hoffman and Ted Hebert about what they had done. But with my more academic background I embarked on a whole new way of setting up a breeding and integrated production program. This has been under continuous refinement all these years, and my view on how it all works has evolved, and hopefully will continue to advance. But why I delve into this whole diatribe is to explain that I keep laser focus on the advancing edge of the genetic lines. Because the very best of what comes out of this genetic selection and program shows me what is possible, and therefore guides me on what strategies are working or not working. This is what I find fascinating. And it rewards me with some semblance of whether I have succeeded in my efforts. And I have been amazed at the genetic plasticity of these lines, as they reach new levels of feathers for the fly tiers of the world. So the very best pelts that come out of this whole endeavor I often save as milestones of the genetic progression. In the old days, when there was actually a fly fishing industry trade show, I would take some of these very best (at that time) pelts to show folks that visited our booth. This was always fun. And besides being a good tool to show what is coming in the future, it was also somewhat gratifying that tiers appreciated how much progress had been made. Often I would give away some of these special pelts to favored customers or friends, or as thanks to folks that have been particularly helpful and/or encouraging. Preferring to share them. The "show pelts" have sort of built up here in the conference room of Whiting Farms. And it occurred to me that they weren't doing anyone any particular good just sitting there. So it was suggested we offer them for sale as sort of a historical/collector cache. So I have embarked on selecting a few to find new homes. Each will be numbered and dated, and notes kept on them which denote particular uniqueness's or significances. This is also fun for me, and provides something of a connection with the clientele that have made Whiting Farms possible. So a way of thanking the fly tying community. Sincerely, Tom Whiting