Ptarmigan fibers are extremely wispy and undulate beneath the water  precisely the same way partridge fibers do. (click image to enlarge) When we hear the term “soft hackles,” we immediately think of the usual suspects: partridge, India hen, brahma hen, starling, and hen capes or saddles. Ptarmigan is usually not mentioned in the line-up, but it should be! Ptarmigan is a lovely wispy variegated feather that can lean gray or brown depending on the bird. Ptarmigan is from the subfamily of Grouse it technically is not a grouse. I typically tie flies with either White Tailed Ptarmigan, which is light gray, or Rock Ptarmigan, a dusky brown. These little game birds are rock stars when it comes to soft hackles. My Ptarmigan sources are either from Washington State or Canada; the skins are readily available on Etsy or eBay, but are a bit hard to find in fly shops around the US. As a matter of fact, I've rarely ever seen it sold in fly shops, even online. But this is precisely why it...