SCOTT,
Now you are talking about a personal favorite type of fly. I find myself going to Soft Hackles/Spiders often the past number of years... They are Deadly patterns that imitate all sorts of insects in a roundabout sort of fashion.
First up, when tying them You Must avoid the urge to wrap the hackle too many times.. Slyvester Nemes recommends Only 1 to 1 1/2 turns of hackle on any Soft Hackle pattern...I agree 100% on this. too much hackle works against the effectiveness of this pattern. As to tying in the Hackle, tye it in by the tip of the soft hackle. Also pre-measure the length of the hackle fibers so they come out about just over the hook shank length....
As to the body, I recommend you tye some with Hares ear dubbing... known as a Hares ear Soft hackle... very effective pattern. Also tye the same pattern with Dyed olive hares Ear dubbing & Brown phase Partridge body feathers.... imitates all sorts of Caddis Pupa....
if you want to go the Floss/Thorax route, do it this way: The tying thread should be kept up at the front of the hook... you tye in the floss (Olive, Yellow & Orange are the 3 Basic colours you can use... but there are plenty of other colours to use as well...you decide) at the thorax area & wrap it down to the hook bend then back to the thorax area. then you would dub a spikey thorax of Hares ear dubbing... then you would wrap the soft hackle 1 to 1 1/2 times... the fly is done & it is very effective.
you are aiming for a thin, subtle overall appearance..... Bulk is a serious Bozo no-no on this pattern..
As to what is used for the Hackle itself... Partridge is commonly the Feather of choice... Thought any upland gamebird flank feather will prove useful......; Hen body feathers, Grouse, Pheasent, Dove, Snipe, etc. Any soft Body feather of any bird will provide the hackles you want.... cut loose & have fun with it...
As to hook choices.. personally I use Dryfly hooks because they are light wire & keep the fly in the upper water column... I prefer to swing a soft hackle up there because I am trying to imitate an emerging Adult in the Caddis family....but a emerging mayfly adult or a egg laying Mayfly adult are imitated by soft hackles as well. You can use Wetfly/ Nymph hooks as well... causing the soft hackle to ride deeper in the water column... it's your call.
I never wrap (un)lead wire as a base for soft hackle, nor place a Beadhead on them... I want the fly to swim near the surface, where they "kill" the best...
Hope this helps you... By the by... Soft Hackles are a great pattern to target Sunfish with...the bigger, spooker ones love soft hackles...
If you need further advice, feel free to Email me directly. I'll try to respond ASAP....
DEAN....
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Hello ALL
I was wondering if any of you could enlighten me on the category of flies
called SOFT HACKLE. I am going to tie some of these and need to know
more.
Any names or good patterns you might be able to help me with would be
great.
Thanks
Scott Crosby
I got a 27 inch red fish yesterday in the Mosquito Lagoon area of the
Indian River.
Florida
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