Soft Hackles

"Larry L" wrote


be creative, damn near any combination that seems good to you ....


probably belongs over at tying forum

BUT

get a good pair of tweezers with a rounded point, grip the very end of the
partridge ( or similar) feather and pull the fibers not gripped to reverse
them, trim the resulting tip and tie in by the tip, then wind a couple turns

IMHO ( and only MY HO ) this results in a nicer tie, especially in smaller
sizes, than tying in by the thicker section ala a dry fly hackle

if you then CAREFULLY wind back through the hackle without tying down any
fibers, the tie becomes much longer lived, trout teeth do nasty things to
soft hackles ... and soft hackles attract trout teeth G

snip snip


partridge and yellow tied with fine yellow wire has saved my skin many
a day. sizes 12-16

Edmond Dantes wrote

partridge and yellow tied with fine yellow wire has saved my skin
many a day. sizes 12-16


In the small freestone mountain creeks of my youthful distant past, most
days had a period when the sun was high and the fish hanging low. Dry fly
action tapered down to slow. My standard approach, at that time of day,
was a partridge and yellow #14 fished upstream just like a dry into the
plunge pools and pockets that define 'fishy' on such lovely little steams.
Almost always you could see the lightly colored SH, well benath the surface,
and the fish that came out of nowhere to eat it .... in many ways this out
performs "dry fly" for intense visual fishing entertainment.

I always "thought" that the P&Y worked so well because of drowned pale duns
and little yellow stones, both of which are common on the streams I fished
.... but Willi thinks it was because I put the fly where the fish wanted it
G .... either way, I am sitting here with a big smile, just remembering
the pleasure of those creeks, the sneaking, the climbing over boulders, the
fishing down on one knee ( hurts just thinking about it now ) and the flash
as that SH disappeared into a trout's mouth.

Larry L wrote:

get a good pair of tweezers with a rounded point, grip the very end of the
partridge ( or similar) feather and pull the fibers not gripped to reverse
them, trim the resulting tip and tie in by the tip, then wind a couple turns

IMHO ( and only MY HO ) this results in a nicer tie, especially in smaller
sizes, than tying in by the thicker section ala a dry fly hackle

I don't use tweezers or anything, but do almost always tie soft
hackles in by the tip end. Learned that way and it just seems
easier.

Favorites, in no particular order:

- Hare's ear and partridge
- PT and partridge
- Partridge and orange
- " and olive
- " and yellow
- Gray partridge and herl
- Grouse and herl
- Grouse and orange (for some reason, on a couple of rivers I
fish regularly this seems to out-fish the P and O.

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

"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" )

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

"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

"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

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

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