Peacock & Partridge

[Dallasblues 0]

Hey folks. I tied this one up last night after seeing a nice YouTube tutorial of a Peacock & Partridge soft hackle. Any criticism... constructive or belligerent... is welcome. 😂

 

[Dallasblues 0]

I’ll try to get some better pics of it tonight after work!

[chugbug27 0]

Looks good. Here's a good article on peacock herl.

https://www.peninsulaflyfishers.org/page-878836

[WWKimba 0]

Looks like it'll catch fish!  One GENERAL rule on soft hackles is that the hackle should end at or just before the bend of the hook.  As I said this is a general rule and as the old joke goes "I never studied generals in school!".

Kim

[Dallasblues 0]

1 hour ago, WWKimba said:

Looks like it'll catch fish!  One GENERAL rule on soft hackles is that the hackle should end at or just before the bend of the hook.  As I said this is a general rule and as the old joke goes "I never studied generals in school!".

Kim

That’s good to know! All I have is a bag of loose Hungarian Partridge feathers... most of which aren’t very good. I kinda have to dig around to find something close to usable. Once I’m more confident in my tying skills I’d like to get a good partridge skin. I’m sure better hackle could be taken from that. 

[Philly 0]

Is that Bob Wills in your Avatar?   Good choice in music.   One thing I do when I working with peacock herl,  whether I'm doing a thorax or body is make a loop of black thread and insert the peacock herl and twist them together.  It adds strength especially if you're dealing with a fish with teeth.  From personal experience, never lip a trout.   I generally follow the rule that WW cited when tying trout size soft hackles. When I'm tying larger ones, size 8 or 6 for panfish the hackle usually goes past the bend of the hook..  

[redietz 0]

6 hours ago, WWKimba said:

Looks like it'll catch fish!  One GENERAL rule on soft hackles is that the hackle should end at or just before the bend of the hook.  As I said this is a general rule and as the old joke goes "I never studied generals in school!".

Kim

The general rule is that less than half the hook length is too short and more than one and a half times the hook length is too long.  If you look at my avatar, it's a Orange Partridge (aka Partridge and Orange) from North Country Flies, one of the two defining books on the subject.  Pritt could have drawn to any length he wanted, since it's painting, not a photo.  That's the length he considered ideal.   There is modern fad toward shorter hackles, which I find inexplicable, if you consider that the hackle represents wings, not legs.  The fly in Dallasblues'  photo is just about right.

And that fly will do especially well around this time of year where I live.

[WWKimba 0]

14 minutes ago, redietz said:

The general rule is that less than half the hook length is too short and more than one and a half times the hook length is too long.  If you look at my avatar, it's a Orange Partridge (aka Partridge and Orange) from North Country Flies, one of the two defining books on the subject.  Pritt could have drawn to any length he wanted, since it's painting, not a photo.  That's the length he considered ideal.   There is modern fad toward shorter hackles, which I find inexplicable, if you consider that the hackle represents wings, not legs.  The fly in Dallasblues'  photo is just about right.

And that fly will do especially well around this time of year where I live.

I'd always heard that the hackle (in a wet fly/soft hackle) represented the legs NOT the wings.  The underwater portion of a fly does not have wings - buds maybe (think the original PT nymph).  And the winged fly is the dry or spinner.

Kim

[redietz 0]

13 minutes ago, WWKimba said:

I'd always heard that the hackle (in a wet fly/soft hackle) represented the legs NOT the wings.  The underwater portion of a fly does not have wings - buds maybe (think the original PT nymph).  And the winged fly is the dry or spinner.

Kim

The P&O is about the only fly I fish for most spinner falls anymore.   Spinners sink eventually.

The Partridge and Herl is an excellent egg laying stone fly; as well as a beetle.

If I wanted to fish a nymph rather than a cripple, I'd fish a nymph. 

[Moshup 0]

Best thing you can do is buy yourself a skin. You’ll save a lot time not having to search 

for the right feather which may never be found in a bag.  I like my hackle tips to go just a tad

beyond the bend.  Try to tie your soft hackle in by the tip if you are not already doing so as it will beyond 

other things reduce the bulk at the head of the fly.   Try stripping one side of the hackle feather bare and tie in by the tip

and see if you like that amount of hackling better.  It’s all pretty much up to the eye of the beholder. Enjoy.

[Dave G. 0]

I've used the peacock herl and soft hackles ( usually roughed grouse) here in spring fed Cape Cod ponds several times for rainbow trout up to 17" or so. Usually in the spring before the midges start showing up. Fished wet and deep on sinking line. Good fly. That, woolly buggers tied with peacock herl bodies as well and small size 18 or so GRHE were my staples in early spring or even now in late Feb if we had open water.

[Poopdeck 0]

Looks perfect to me. Tie some up with longer and shorter hackles and go fish them. I'm pretty sure you will learn the worth of exact historical accuracy. Nothing wrong with historical accuracy if that's what your into but that's a great tie that will be a thrill to fish.  Keep it up!

[mikemac1 0]

Your fly will catch fish.  Good Job.

I am a big fan of the soft hackle style for two reasons.  One, soft hackle flies are used throughout the water column to suggest aquatic insects that are in any stage of emergence.  Two, the nature of the soft hackle feather—grouse, partridge, hen, etc. inevitably imparts movement of limbs and such to the fly when in the water.  This movement and the wide variety of body materials that can be used to create color and contrasts makes a soft hackle style fly extremely enticing to fish.  Soft hackles are not about imitations, but instead attraction and suggestion.  This short You Tube video of a caddis pupa emerging demonstrates the movements and pulsations that a pupa goes through to emerge as an adult.  Although this was filmed out of water.  This process takes place from the bottom to the top of the water column.

Caddis Hatch

On the Firehole River in YNP, caddis is king in June, although BWO and PMDs are just as common. Traditional  Soft Hackles swung through wide glides are killer flies replicating emerging Caddis and Mayflies.  Color rarely matters because the soft hackle style does such a good job of replicating the type of movement and pulsations shown in the video.

[redietz 0]

2 hours ago, Poopdeck said:

Looks perfect to me. Tie some up with longer and shorter hackles and go fish them. I'm pretty sure you will learn the worth of exact historical accuracy. Nothing wrong with historical accuracy if that's what your into but that's a great tie that will be a thrill to fish.  Keep it up!

In fact, I caught several the other day on a grouse and peacock on which all the feather barbules had worn off.  Just the peacock worked.

[Poopdeck 0]

Micmac, that was one of the coolest videos I've seen. 

Redietz, I'm willing to bet that you've caught fish with the peacock hurl all broken, hanging and or missing as well.