Larry L wrote:
"Willi & Sue" wrote


Wouldn't they take the fly just under the surface?


it didn't seem so ... but ... there may have been takes I didn't see, last
light, old eyes, etc. ... kinda surprised me too ... I tried swinging the
pattern but got very few takes, and real dinks, that way

In all honesty, when the pattern sank, I tried to re-float it more than I
tried to test it sunk .... I was more interested in tackling the problem of
half floating than in catching fish ....



IMO, a soft hackle isn't very well suited to either floating or half
floating unless you tie it
with a body that will provide flotation. That would result in a fairly
fat body. When fishing to rising fish I usually fish them on a greased
tippet so they float just under the surface.

You could try using a CDC hackle tied soft hackle style. Not quite the
same as partridge but would give you much better flotation. It makes an
effective BWO imitation but I haven't tried it on any other hatches.

Willi