Metz #3 Cock Neck are good value-for-money necks intended for tying dry flies, which are distinguished from 1st & 2nd class by a slightly lesser number of hackles and the length of the usable portion of the feathers. From these necks, you will find hackles for dry flies up to size #18, but most of the hackles are suitable for Scandinavian flies in hook sizes 10-16. In third-grade necks, the length of the usable portion of the hackles is 50-60% of the total feather length.
Metz was the first farm in the early 1970s to introduce genetically bred hackle products to the market, much to the delight of dry fly tiers. From its early days, Metz has been a brand against which other products are compared, and it continues to produce some of the world's most respected hackle products for both consumers and especially fly factories. In Metz's dry fly quality necks, the barbs are stiff, the base fluff is minimized, and the stem is durable and flexible. Dry flies tied with Metz hackles float high and, of course, for a long time, because the stiff barbs stay dry for a long time and dry quickly during false casts. Consistency of the products is achieved through strict genetic selection, and the industry's most precise quality classification ensures that they match the classification on the packaging.
