> As for soft hackles, simple works for me. The right > size, color, a bit of > dubbing, a wrap of hackle and maybe a rib and they > catch fish. All those > other things (like shucks) I question (but do use > sometimes).
The improvements I laid out in the article are twofold: 1) a shellback technique to increase the lifespan of a floss-bodied (especially when using Rayon) soft hackle and... 2) a small "tuft" of 6 or so Antron fibers (clear) between the thorax and hackle. Some would say the latter is a wing (it has been referred to as a Johnson Wing by friends...that was edited by Fly Tyer too) but I argue that since I put it there and that my intent was not to imitate a wing AND that the Antron is not dense enough to sufficiently simulate a wing or project an adequate wing profile that it therefore cannot be construed as a wing. Rather, it was my intent to have the Antron add just a little flash at the point on the fly where the emergence (from nymph to dun) would be initiating (at the wingcase) as is the case with a natural insect during the emerger stage when a gas bubble or bubbles have formed. Regardless of what the tuft is called, the trout liked it about seven times more frequently than the same pattern tied in a standard style. This was proven sufficiently enough for me on tests run with the standard pattern on the "bob" and the improved version of the SAME soft hackle pattern (usually a Partridge and Orange or Part. & Olive or Hare's Ear Soft Hackle) on the point and with the two flies in the reversed orientation. These tests were conducted over the course of a few seasons on freestone streams and in all cases the flies with the Antron addition were more well-liked than the standard . These two deviations are simple to add to any existing soft hackle pattern tying sequence and really, in my opinion, add to the effectiveness of the soft hackled pattern, whatever flavor it may be. It must be noted that these are not new patterns, just a couple refinements to old standards. ===== http://www.geocities.com/salmn8r/caddisforkids.html __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com
