Soft Hackle
- This topic has 7 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated Mar 27, 2006 at 3:15 am by
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I’ve used the same soft hackles I use in TN to catch fish in ID, WY, MT, and CA. The partridge and oragne/green/yellow/purple (insert a favorite color) are classics and consistent producers. Drab colors are just as effective, but my favorite is a peacock bodied fly.
Try tying them in colors and sizes to match your local caddis species, with some odd ball ties thrown in for attractor purposes, and you should be set.
Boxkid,
For the peacock I use two to three herls and fine copper wire, twist them all together, wrap to the thorax area, add a little light colored dubbing, then finish with the hackle.
The colored bodies have traditionally been tied with floss and make really pretty flies, but synthetics are available and are more durable.
Without dropping some money it will be hard to find a lot of smaller hackles in the ready prepared packs of partridge. That said, with some sifting and sorting one can usually find a few feathers suitable for 18’s and 20’s, but most of the flies I tie are 14’s and 16’s, with a few 10’s and 12’s for searching patterns.
Nymph hooks will help your flies to sink a little faster, dry fly hooks will keep them closer to the surface–depending on what the fish are doing having both is a good idea. Also, you might want to think about using the newer colored wires for body materials; they provide weight without adding a whole lot of bulk. Don’t forget beads.
Bryan
I agree with Splitshot on the peacock color. Another color that works well when the yellow midges are flying is white or yellow.
I sometimes put on a couple of colors when trying to figure the fish out.
If they are feeding a little deeper I put on a soft with a weighted Tellico on the end. I have slaughtered some fish with this combo especially when there were Caddis in the area.Where do you guys buy your skins?
Mike,
I bought locally (the Fly Chucker). My yard attracts a lot of birds and from time to time I’ve found what are either cardinal or robin breast feathers that I’ve collected and used to tie smaller soft hackles.
They aren’t any more effective than partridge or quail, but are really pretty with a slight rust cast. I should probably check the game laws to see if posession of song bird feathers is illegal.
There are 79 soft hackle patterns in the fly pattern archive at http://www.flyfisherman.com. In addition, there is a good article there about tying in partridge hackles so that you can use any size hackle for smaller flies and you don’t have to have a feather specifically for the size hook you are using.
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