How Hackle Tracker Works

Checking things off

Tap any material card to toggle it owned or unowned. Categories are collapsed by default — tap the category header to expand it. Use the search bar to jump straight to anything.

Adding detail with trait chips

Once you own a material, a small details button appears on the card. Tap it to log specifics — colors you own, sizes, hook styles, bead finishes. This is optional but it sharpens your pattern confidence from "I probably have this" to "I have exactly what this pattern needs."

The confidence badge

On the dashboard, some Ready to Tie patterns show a ✓ confirmed badge. That means you've logged specific traits — colors, sizes, finishes — for the materials that pattern needs. No badge just means you own the right categories but haven't verified the details yet. Either way you can tie the fly — confirmed just means you're certain before you sit down.

New user? Start here

If your bench is empty, Midge will suggest five starter materials at the top of the page. They're the five that unlock the most patterns fastest: Nymph Hook, Thread, Tungsten Bead, Superfine Dubbing, and Wire. Check them off and you'll have a real list of patterns to work from before you close the tab.

Ready to Tie

Patterns where you own every required material. Tap any card to see the full recipe, watch a tutorial, log it, or add it to your queue.

Almost There

Patterns where you're missing one or two required materials. These are your shortest path to more flies. Midge's "Can I substitute X?" button lives here — ask him if something on your bench can stand in for what you're missing.

Buy One

Materials ranked by how many new patterns they'd unlock. The tab header shows the total unique patterns you'd open up if you bought the full list — so you know exactly what's at stake. The top card gets a 🔥 badge for the single purchase that does the most work. Add anything to your shopping list directly from here, and Midge will drop a quick take when you do. The "Should I buy this?" button gives you his full read.

Search

There's a search bar across all three tabs. Type a pattern name to filter down to just that fly — useful when you know what you want to tie and want to check if you're close.

The ⚠ Check stash status

This shows up on patterns where you own all the required materials but one of them has a trait conflict — wrong color, wrong bead finish, wrong hook size. The card shows the specific materials involved so you know at a glance what to look at. Click through to the pattern page to confirm the traits you do have, or hit Tying it my way if you're not worried about the mismatch and want the pattern counted as ready.

Bench score pills

Below the search bar, a row of colored pills shows your readiness for each fly style — Dry fly 78%, Nymph 45%, Streamer 31%, and so on. The fill inside each pill represents the percentage of patterns in that style you can currently tie. Color tells you your strength level: green is Excellent (85%+), teal is Strong, amber is Solid, orange is Building, red is Developing, and gray is Weak. Tap any pill to filter all three tabs to that style. Tap again (or tap All) to clear it.

The recipe

Every pattern page shows a full material list sorted in tying order — hook first, thread, body, rib, wing, hackle, and so on. Each material shows its role in the fly (body, tail, rib, etc.) so you know exactly what it's doing and why.

What you're missing

If you can't tie the fly yet, there's a callout box at the top showing exactly what you need to buy, including hook size recommendations for beads.

Readiness callouts

If you own most of the materials but have some trait mismatches — wrong bead finish, wrong hook size — the pattern page calls those out specifically. For hook sizes, you'll see individual chips for each size in the recipe so you can confirm exactly which ones you have. Confirm the traits you do own and the badge updates instantly.

Adding to your inventory from the pattern page

Each material row has a small + I have this button. Tap it to add that material to your inventory without leaving the pattern. The + List button adds it to your shopping list.

Pattern photos

Most pattern pages have a swipeable photo strip showing what the finished fly actually looks like — useful when you're not sure if your version is on track. Community members can submit their own tied examples using the Submit a photo prompt at the bottom of the strip. Photos go through a quick review before they appear.

Logging and queuing

Log it records that you've tied this pattern — it goes into your tying history and triggers badges. Queue it adds it to your tying queue so you can plan a session in advance.

Suggest a fix

The material list isn't always perfect — fly tyers have opinions. If you spot something wrong, hit Suggest a fix at the bottom of the pattern. It goes to a review queue.

Filters

Filter by fish species (trout, carp, bass, panfish), fly type, difficulty, water type (stream, tailwater, stillwater, spring creek), and season. Filters stack — so Nymph + Stream + Spring shows you exactly the flies that fit a spring creek nymph box.

Your status on every card

Each pattern shows your match status — Ready, Likely, Check stash, or how many materials away you are. So even while browsing you can see at a glance what you can tie and what's just out of reach.

Midge knows your bench. Every question he answers is informed by what you actually own — he's not giving you generic fly shop advice. He has opinions, a dry sense of humor, and a neighbor named Carl who makes questionable decisions at the vise.

Should I buy this? — on the Buy One tab

Ask Midge whether a material is worth purchasing. He'll tell you what it unlocks, why those patterns matter, and whether the buy is a no-brainer or a luxury. He'll also be honest when it isn't worth it.

Can I substitute X? — on the Almost There tab

Give Midge the missing material and he'll look at your bench and tell you if anything you own can stand in for it. Real substitution advice — not guesswork.

What should I tie? — Ask Midge box at the top of your dashboard

Describe your fishing situation — river, conditions, time of year, target species — and Midge picks 3–5 patterns from your ready list that fit. Be specific and you'll get specific answers.

Adding items

Add materials from the Buy One tab or Almost There tab ("+ List" on each card), from pattern detail pages ("+ List" on each material row), or directly from the shopping list page itself.

Pattern unlock info

Each item on your list shows which patterns it would unlock if you bought it. So you can prioritize at the shop based on what opens the most new flies.

Shareable link

There's a share button on the shopping list page. It generates a link anyone can view — useful for sending your list to a spouse, a fishing buddy, or your own phone before walking into a fly shop.

Adding patterns

Add any pattern from its detail page using the Queue it button. You can set a quantity and a color note — useful when you're tying a batch of the same fly in different sizes.

Tied it

When you finish a fly, hit Tied it on the queue card. It logs the tie automatically and removes it from the queue. No double entry.

Log

Every time you log a pattern — from the detail page or the queue — it goes into your tying history at Log. Volume, variety, and streaks are all tracked.

Badges

Badges are earned automatically when you hit milestones — first tie, 10 patterns logged, tying multiple species, hitting variety targets. They show up as a toast notification immediately when you earn them, wherever you are in the app. Check your full badge collection on the log page.