Orange Hare's Ear Soft Hackle

[Dart 0]

What is the technique for seperating the rachis from the shaft without tearing it. How dureable are the collars when tied in this way? Nice tie...

 

 

I'll attempt to answer your question. I'm not always good with words, so I took some quick and dirty pictures trying to explain how I tied in the hackle. I used contrasting colors so hopefully you can see how the thread reinforces the collar. (Sorry for the blurry pics, I'm about to have house guests and don't have time to redo it before they get here).

 

First, I tie in the feather with concave side facing up and extending over the eye of the hook. If I want a swept-back hackle, I bring the thread right up to the eye of the hook. If I want the hackle to be more perpendicular to the hook, I stop the thread where I want the head to start.

 

Then I move the thread toward the bend of the hook and wrap the hackle backwards toward the rear.

 

Then the thread goes back forward to tie off the hackle. Weave through the hackle so you don't bind down the fibers, much like you would do with dry fly hackle.

 

Here, I've made it through the hackle, making a couple of wraps through it on the way forward to bind it down. At this point, you're ready to form the head.

 

Make a neat head (neater than mine, I hope!) and you're done!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[rockworm 0]

Nice, clear step-by-step! I tye my soft-hackle the same way, except I often strip the off-side to keep the collar sparse but evenly distributed. (And with fewer fibers curving forward.) When I want a really "buggy-looking" fly (like a flymph with fibers pointing in all directions) I leave the feather intact.

[bounty hunter 0]

Ok I get what you are saying. Thanks for the step by step, very clear and easy to undrestand...

[Old Hat 0]

Dart - very nice job of explaining the technique.

 

Bounty hunter - The rachis is the shaft. The shaft is made up of the Calamus (nonbarbed lower shaft) and the rachis (barbed shaft). I am assuming that you mean stripping the barbs from the shaft. There is no set way to do it to keep from tearing but the best way I have found is to grab a few barbs in one hand and the tip of the feather with the shaft in the other and carefully pull the tip of the feather and shaft away from the barbs. Not the barbs away from the shaft. The hackle is just as durable when tied as Dart has described but if you tie it in by the tip and wrap forward as many do and don't reinforce it with the thread it will be much less durable.

[Dart 0]

Carl, the best part about the picture is the hook!

 

So I'm curious, I normally go about 1.5 wraps with barbs attached to both sides of the shaft. I know it depends on the pattern, but do most people, as a rule, strip half of the barbs off? When I have done this in the past, I noticed instead of taking 1.5 wraps of hackle, I may go 3... with this, I realize more bulk on the hook from the rachis.

 

Thoughts?

[Old Hat 0]

It's really just an eye-ball-it thing. It depends on the insect your trying to match, the size of the hook, the type of feather (different barb thickness or density) etc. Some tiers like it a bit dense some like it extremely sparse. It really just comes down to personal preference unless your trying to tie a specific style (Clyde style spider) then you should try for the characteristics of that style. Most often 1-2 wraps unstripped is enough. I normally don't strip my hackles unless I'm tying really small or the rachis of the feather I want to use is thicker than I like. If you're a little full at the hackle, all the fish you're going to catch on the fly will thin out the hackle in no time. I like the amount you have on your step-by-step but that may be a bit full for some. The hackle your using is webby and full so maybe one wrap depending on your preference, where if you were using partridge...maybe two. Again, I always just eyeball it and error on the side of full and just pluck a few fibers off before you fish if you think it is too much.