Guest Blogger: Mike Cline, Bozeman, MT Spider style soft hackles imitate any kind of active nymph, and are an effective attractor fly to … These include partridge, grouse, pheasant, starling, quail, and woodcock. They kill the action of the fly in the water, aren’t really necessary to get flies in front of fish, force the use of longer hooks and most of all are an unnecessary expense. The Umpqua Soft Hackle Emerger Fly is a great little pattern that can imitate a variety of different emerging insects or swimmers. My go to list of body materials are these. Full list here. So many of the feathers that are called for in the classic soft hackle patterns are protected and off limits to the fly tier. I just finished tying a custom order for one dozen Orange Fish Hawk soft hackle wet flies. The Missouri River features ideal water for Soft Hackle fishing. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. On the right, you can see the “saddle patch”, which is the part of the pelt straddling the back of the chicken; think of it like a saddle tossed over the back of a horse. I think using barbless hooks on soft hackles, especially when swinging them improves hookups when fish attack the moving fly. Here’s my list of essential soft hackle materials. Body: Coq de Leon hen feathers, folded and tied in by the tips. You can play around with the gauge of wire that is used. I think this improves the fly’s Caddis Soft Hackle Nymph When other flies fail, this soft hackle pattern has an uncanny way of surpassing our expectations. Feathers for Tying Soft Hackle Flies. Hackle: A dark-barred Brahma hen saddle feather. A Soft-Hackle Indicator Rig My favorite setup employs a six- to eight-foot piece of 10-pound Maxima line under an acrylic yarn indicator. Traditionally, the … Note: Supported video sources include YouTube, Vimeo, etc. Several attributes make hen hackle ideal for certain applications. The original soft hackle, spider and wet fly fisherman used wallets to store flies. Probably the most famous of his flies is the Sparrow, partly because it works, but also because it’s one of the few patterns to utilize the after-shaft feathers found behind many game bird body feathers. I became a soft-hackle devotee about five years ago after a visit to Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Mont., on a fly-buying binge for a trip to the Firehole River. Each of the feather types featured here offers excellent qualities for creating soft hackle flies, and yes, there are times when small soft hackles are just what summer steelhead want to eat. Below is a selection of emerger patterns, soft hackles and wet flies. Hen feathers have fine, flexible quills that take up very little space and create little bulk when wrapped on the hook. Here’s an example of a streamer-type fly that was born out of desperation. At the end of the leader I tie on a size 10 SPRO Power Swivel; then a two- to three-foot long piece of 6-pound Maxima Chameleon or Drennan Fluorocarbon tippet to the other swivel ring. Also, do not discard the aftershaft feather this is an exceptionally useful feather for tying smaller soft-hackle flies such as the Aftershaft Soft-Hackle Wet Fly step 4 Wind partridge feather around hook (one turn or at most, two--the fly is best dressed sparsely.) They can be deadly flies when swung through the water column and are highly effective fish catchers, even through rising fish. Sim showed me some baitfish-style flies tied entirely with grizzly feathers. Upload a fly for a chance to win a FREE Fly Tyer subscription. Unfortunately, many fly shops don’t carry them and even online retailers don’t offer the variety one would like to see. I adapted them to the design of Sim’s pattern, and they worked great. A Black Pennell Wet, Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle, Partridge and Olive Soft Hackle or Hares Ear Soft Hackle are all good flies to try. I tie up hundreds every season for my own fishing and to give to friends and people I meet along the river. Two dollar packages of partridge feathers rarely have sufficient small hackles to warrant the expense. If someone asked my what the best all around hackle for sakasa kebari, I would answer (without hesitation) that it’s brahma hen cape from Whiting Farms. Let’s look at hen feathers in more detail. Here's a photo of a single fly: When my The smaller feathers, found near the head, are used for making small wet flies; the larger feathers near the bottom of the neck are excellent for tying larger wet flies, the throats on salmon flies and streamers, and the wings on dry flies. Additionally, it’s hard to justify paying $2 for a fly on a cheap hook that can be tied in less than a minute or so on a good one. Hen hackles are ideal for tying wet flies. The large number of fibers, especially on a saddle feather, creates a full collar with just a few wraps; in fact, with some feathers, a single turn suffices. These all use hen: Adams , Soft Hackled Wooly Bugger , Black Ghost , Teal, Blue, and Silver , Light Caddis , Grey Hackle Peacock Soft Hackles are typically tied with webbier, softer feathers, as opposed to the stiff-fibered feathers that are used for dry flies. While it can be swung through pocket water and deep pools, the Caddis Soft Hackle is most effectively Required fields are marked *. We’ll see where the feathers come from, and examine many of their uses. So that's how I see this whole soft-hackle versus wet-fly business, and my view comes from decades of tying and fishing both kinds of flies. They are exceptionally effective as trailers on small bugger and streamer patterns. 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