Roosters and Neck Hackles: Be Careful What You Wish For

“Our hackle for fly-tying in those days didn’t amount to much in quality, so this might just be the way for us, in our callow youth, to improve our fly-tying supplies. I told my boss that we wanted a really mature old rooster, with fine, full plumage. He was amused and good enough to oblige us kids and got us the bird we thought we wanted — that turned out to be one hell of a big, tough, mean and dangerous old bird

.” Gordon Wickstrom recounts a life lesson learned, courtesy of a mature cock rooster. In the Boulder Daily Camera.