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Emmo

Newby - Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle

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I'm an old geez that's new to fly tying and fly fishing. I started tying last fall and so far have really enjoyed the journey. I'm tying up some flies to be gifted to a good friend that lives and fishes in Oregon. His favorite fly is a Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle - green or orange. I went to a fly fishing show over the weekend and picked up some material. I have a #12 Daiichi 1530 wet nymph hook, 1x short and Olive color 6/OW Uni-Thread. My questions, do I have a good hook selection, would I be better with a longer 2X? Is my thread a good selection or would I tie a nicer fly with smaller thread? Any advise would be appreciated. I've tied up a few and they look good to me, but I'm not gonna be fishing them. Thanks

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I think ithe hook would work fine but bugs come in all different sizes so it just depends if there is a specific insect that he is trying to imitate, 12- 18 are pretty common sizes.

 

A 6/0 thread will work fine for a size 12. I find a 8/0 thread tends to be a good size for just about anything you will tie for trout.

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Thanks 1hook. My friend uses this fly in a 12-14-16, since I'm new to tying and this is my first attempt at something this small I thought I'd go with the size 12. I had thought about trying some 8/0 thread, I'll pick some up over the weekend. Thanks

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Maybe partridge & green, partridge & orange? Not sure what a pheasant tail soft hackle would be in green and orange... But others might know better

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Thread size is what you make of it, no standards no matter who says there is, but I have tied a bunch of small and large flies with 6/0.

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=72060

http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=80466

http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/fly-tying-thread-table

 

And I am not knowing the fly you speak of. I usually tie pheasant tails as a nymph and soft hackles with thread, yarn or floss body. So I can't guess which hook is best suited for your fly. However I have tied flies on "wrong" hooks and caught fish with them, it is (imo) more important to keep the proportions correct than to have the exact hook.

 

A couple hook comparison charts:

http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/hook-selection

http://killroys.com/chart/hook-charts/

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@Emmo:

Here's a pheasant tail (no green, no orange):

https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/video-how-to-tie-the-pheasant-tail-nymph

 

Here's a soft hackle in orange (no pheasant tail). Green is same just different color thread or silk or floss:

 

Here's a pheasant tail soft hackle (no green, no orange):

 

You can't go wrong with any of them, or all of them for that matter.

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I normally use TMC 101 for my nymphs. I have an aversion to down eyed hooks. I've been tying my soft hackles on the Partridge 15BN Klinkhamer/emerger hook size 10 and 12. They're intended for pan fish. The only soft hackle pheasant tails I tie are bead head nymphs. I like 8/0 thread for size 12 through 16. Gives you a neater head. I had to check but a couple of the catalogs have Pheasant tails in green and orange so that's doable. If you decide to tie smaller than a 12 or 14 you might consider using starling as the soft hackle. As tjm pointed out proportions make the fly look good to the tyer, not sure if the fish care. The pheasant tail soft hackle is going to have peacock herl thorax, you'll need to take that into consideration when building the fly. Good luck with it.

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Thanks for all the help and guidance. I think I'll stay with the hook I have and maybe try the 8/0 thread.

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I think you will like 8/0 UNI thread, it's very close in diameter to Danville 6/0 but IMO tougher. I use both/either though, as well as Ultra 70D for nymphs the size you are tying, though the Ultra is more likely to end up on dry flies with hair wings or small bucktail streamers.. Incidentally, it would take a lot of extra turns of Ultra 70D to make the bulk of UNI 6/0 in less turns. And UNI 8/0 is someplace in between in build up.

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As a general rule I like to use a 1x or 2x long hook when using beads, otherwise, a standard length hook w/o a bead. thread color is less important unless you plan to have a "hot" color added to the pattern...otherwise you never see the thread color if tied right.

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I think that hook choice is fine. I like a heavier wire hook for my softies, and if your buddy fishes them somewhere like the Deschutes he'll be thanking you because those powerful redsides will bend out thinner wire hooks with ease. A size 12 pheasant tail soft hackle is a good fly during the march brown hatch and as a callibaetis emerger on the high lakes during the summer, I always a have a few in my box. I like them with a beadhead, it helps keep the fly under the surface film on the swing.

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