Soft Hackles
 

"JR" wrote


There are a gazillion variations, but I usually have these in my
box. Hard to find small SF feathers, but a hare's ear and
partridge in #18 can often work wonders....

- JR



So, stroke some of the fibers into reversed position, snip the entire 'tip"
off. leaving a "v" of fibers.

tie that "v" in facing forward, much as you might deer hair for a sparkle
dun, sizing "overhang" to hook

wind to rear, form body, pull those hackle fibers back and first a wrap or
two to hold them back then a wrap or two through the fibers to spread them
out, ( be aggressive, pull and push em where you want em ) and then a
finish wrap or two to form the final "angle back" look

the "fatness" or the individual fibers becomes the limitation to how small
you can go, not the fiber length ... you may not win "best fly in show" this
way, but it fishing well


and, of course, partridge is only one of many birds that have feathers
suitable .... quail, snipe, starling, and many others

... hell, come to the West again this summer ( you know you need it ... my
wife and I watched a movie last night set in Baltimore and I figured out I
left there in mid-1971 and I STILL shudder at the very thought of that
area )
... and visit BRF, best SH skin selection I personally know of .... ( I
bitched that the Partridge they had was too much brown feathers not enough
gray feathers one time ... Jackie shook her head, ( I'm a perennial pest )
and said, "Just a minute" and came back with a huge, yes HUGE, box of
skins, " look through these" )

Soft Hackles
 

Larry L wrote:
"JR" wrote

.... Hard to find small SF feathers, but a hare's ear and
partridge in #18 can often work wonders....

So, stroke some of the fibers into reversed position, snip the entire 'tip"
off. leaving a "v" of fibers.

tie that "v" in facing forward, much as you might deer hair for a sparkle
dun, sizing "overhang" to hook

wind to rear, form body, pull those hackle fibers back and first a wrap or
two to hold them back then a wrap or two through the fibers to spread them
out, ( be aggressive, pull and push em where you want em ) and then a
finish wrap or two to form the final "angle back" look

the "fatness" or the individual fibers becomes the limitation to how small
you can go, not the fiber length ... you may not win "best fly in show" this
way, but it fishing well

Yes, that's the method Nemes and others recommend, and I
sometimes resort to it, but I dislike it.... for reasons that
aren't well explained.... one of those visceral distastes, I
guess....

Usually I just pick the smallest of feathers from various quail
skins (Blue Ribbon Flies often has a good selection, for those
who don't hunt) and make do.

- JR

Soft Hackles
 

"Larry L" wrote in
:

the "fatness" or the individual fibers becomes the limitation to how
small you can go, not the fiber length ... you may not win "best fly
in show" this way, but it fishing well

Different feathers can tie down very small. Try using starling, for
example.

--
Scott
Reverse name to reply

Soft Hackles
 

Joel *DFD* typed:
On Dec 8, 10:00?am, mdk77 wrote:
I've never fished them, and wondered if you guys do. ?If so, then
what colors and sizes are your favorites for trout? ?I think I'll
tie some up this winter.

The Soft Hackle King of ROFF is Tom Littleton.
If he reads your post you're in luck.
You'll get a wealth of information.

Yep - his Partridge and Yellow was contributed in one of the swaps, and
really fished well for me. Now I always keep a few in my box, both yellow
and orange.
--
TL,
Tim
-------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Soft Hackles
 

"Scott Seidman" wrote in message
. 1.4...
Different feathers can tie down very small. Try using starling, for
example.

very true, Scott. Certain doves have great small soft hackles in a variety
of duns, bobwhites and some high quality partridge will tie down to #18 size
easily. Smaller
flies than that with starling, which can be bleached to a nice tannish
shade.
for the Original Poster:
As for bodies, the classic silk stuff works, and Dave is definitely a wise
old pirate with the Hares Ear and PT suggestions. Another variation I use is
called the Submerger, a flymph type soft hackle originated in PA by Bob
Sentiwany. As follows:
hook--#12-20 2xl nymph
thread--to match body
tails--3 or 4 mallard flank fibers, long
rib--very fine silver wire
body--loop-dubbed spiky hair with sparkle yarn.
I've used Hares Ear Plus, Sparkle Squirrel and
a home brewed Coyote Mask mix.

just tie in the tails, then the ribbing. Loop dub a loose, spiky body 4/5
of shank length. Rib with silver wire, several turns. Take no more than 2
turns of partridge and
tie of and finish neat head. These things seem to work well for emerging
caddis, some spinners in the film and who knows what else. Some folks cheat
and put weight in front of them and drift them deep. Try it and see if you
like it. If you just want to make a couple little batches, stash away a half
dozen each of a Tan #14 and an Olive
#16 and get back to me(these selections would be based on the Eastern US,
ymmv).
Tom
hackle--partridge,sparse

Soft Hackles
 

what happened to the formatting of that recipe, I have no clue. For the
Submerger, again:

hook--2xl nymph #12-20
thread--6/0 to match
tails--mallard flank fibers(3 or 4, longish)
rib--very fine silver wire
body--loop dubbed mix of coarse hair, dyed and
sparkle yarns.
hackle--partridge, sparse.

Tom

Soft Hackles
 

On Dec 8, 7:59 pm, "Tom Littleton" wrote:
what happened to the formatting of that recipe, I have no clue. For the
Submerger, again:

hook--2xl nymph #12-20
thread--6/0 to match
tails--mallard flank fibers(3 or 4, longish)
rib--very fine silver wire
body--loop dubbed mix of coarse hair, dyed and
sparkle yarns.
hackle--partridge, sparse.

Tom

Tom do you ever strip the hackle from one side of the stem before
wrapping?

TBone

Soft Hackles
 

Halfordian Golfer wrote:
On Dec 8, 7:59 pm, "Tom Littleton" wrote:

what happened to the formatting of that recipe, I have no clue. For the
Submerger, again:

hook--2xl nymph #12-20
thread--6/0 to match
tails--mallard flank fibers(3 or 4, longish)
rib--very fine silver wire
body--loop dubbed mix of coarse hair, dyed and
sparkle yarns.
hackle--partridge, sparse.

Tom


Tom do you ever strip the hackle from one side of the stem before
wrapping?

TBone



I tie in by the tips without a tweezer. (not sure what the tweezer is
for?) I strip the hackle fibers off the "inside" side of the feather and
then do two to two and a half wraps. For me, this results in a neater
and sparse look.

Willi

Soft Hackles
 

"Willi" wrote


I tie in by the tips without a tweezer. (not sure what the tweezer is
for?)


Just for "easy" I found a pair, with rounded tip, in a shop with the
A.K.Best name on them that have proved to be more useful for a variety of
things than I would have guessed. For the tip tie-in it simply makes it
easier to grip just a itsy bitsy tiny bit of tip ... not essential, just
nice to have. I "think" the ones I found are no longer available, but I
liked them so much and found so many little uses, I went back and got a
second pair.

Soft Hackles
 

In article ,
Larry L writes
"JR" wrote


There are a gazillion variations, but I usually have these in my
box. Hard to find small SF feathers, but a hare's ear and
partridge in #18 can often work wonders....

- JR



So, stroke some of the fibers into reversed position, snip the entire 'tip"
off. leaving a "v" of fibers.

Just moisten the pointy tip after pulling back the rest of the fibres -
this will make tying in so much easier. Don't clip off the stalk until
the last minute - it gives you something to hold with the tweezers.

Best wet hackles I've ever tied - hen hackles of course..
--
Bill Grey