best of all this styly of dressing permits the use of oversize hackles or small hooks. iain
OK, Murf - and anyone else who might be interested. . .
Here is Gary Murphy's version of a soft hackle as taught to me at the S-o-w-b-u-g.
Leave a lengthy tag end when wrapping thread on the hook shank.
Next, select some hackle fibers (not a whole feather - just the fibers) from a partridge, starling, etc. and strip them from the stem of the feather.
Tie these fibers onto the hook - with the tips of the fibers extending over the eye of the hook and the butt of the fibers heading towards the bend. Allow the fibers to spin a bit around the hook.
Wrap thread to bend of hook and then back to the thorax area.
Using the tag end of the thread left from step 1, rope-dub (or otherwise dub) a body onto the hook to the thorax area. Tie off with the thread.
Dub a thorax ball to support the hackle.
Using your finger, press the hackle backward from the eye so that it splays around the hook like a soft hackle normally would.
Whip finish.
The big difference is the tag end of the fly that is used to dub with. It is a very neat fly - slightly different from the traditional soft hackle - dubbed body instead of floss.
Pretty neat.
Doc
----- Original Message ----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, March 31, 2003 5:06 PM Subject: Re: [VFB] SOW BUG - NEED REPORT - PLEASE
Just give me a few days to master the technique. Boy! I can't imagine how I'll ever explain it, though!
How about tying a group in stages. Maybe Byard or Harry Mason will do the pics and describe the steps. Tony has been known to tie a fly in steps and send partially finished flys plus a finished fly out to folks like me.
Murf
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