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My first soft hackle.

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I tied this orange and partridge. My first soft hackle fly. Just wanted some feedback. Is the hackle too long for the hook? I tried to take the smallest feathers I could find on the partridge. It was up by the neck. Maybe the wrong feathers? Anyway, I also added some gold wire ribbing because I thought it would add a bit to the fly, but I don't regularly see that. Anyway... I hope I did ok?

 

post-58316-0-56470800-1473284009_thumb.jpeg

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I don't think the hackle is overly long, maybe just a touch, but you did wrap too far down the hook for a traditional north country spider. The thread should stop somewhere between the barb and the hook point (I'll let the more knowledgable weigh in on exactly where though). I can't decide if I am a fan of the wire rib or not. If I were to tie it and wanted a rib, I'd probably lean towards flat tinsel to keep the profile slim. If you do use wire, tie it off further back so you don't have it protruding from the front of your wraps.

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Haha welcome back buddy. I have no experience whatsoever with soft hackle but its nice to see you back

Posted a few times on the "August and September flies from the vise" section. Just didn't start my own thread for a while. Thanks! :)

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Hi McFly-

This looks like a very respecable soft-hackle...I let the fish judge my flies and yes, I fish many soft-hackles. Throw them in situations where you might not expect them to work and get a pleasent surprise!

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Hi McFly-

This looks like a very respecable soft-hackle...I let the fish judge my flies and yes, I fish many soft-hackles. Throw them in situations where you might not expect them to work and get a pleasent surprise!

Thanks! I think JD is right though about the things he said. I'll be refining it a bit more. Fish don't care usually as much as the tier themselves do. I want it to be correctly tied if I'm gonna tie more. Hopefully I can get the hang of it.

 

Is the head small enough guys? Generally do you like them small or larger?

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Nice fly. As said earlier, the body goes a bit to far on the bend and the hackle may be a bit long. Just remember soft hackles like a Partridge and Orange only need 1 1/2 to 2 turns of hackle.

 

But that's not bad. I would fish it.

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2nd attempt

I think I'm using the wrong hook. It's a Daiichi 1270, which might have a bad bend for this. What hooks do you usually use?

 

 

post-58316-0-94862800-1473288366_thumb.jpegpost-58316-0-33152100-1473288420_thumb.jpeg

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The hackle doesn't seem too overly long. I tend to tie mine a bit shorter though. Also, I like mine a little more sparse than that but that's totally personal preference. Fish them and let us know how they do!

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Looks fine to me.I've never really stuck to the rules when it comes to hackle.I tend to tie a lot of things on the longer side.

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The hackle doesn't seem too overly long. I tend to tie mine a bit shorter though. Also, I like mine a little more sparse than that but that's totally personal preference. Fish them and let us know how they do!

How many wraps do you do? This was I think 3... I will try it with 2...

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Nice fly. As said earlier, the body goes a bit to far on the bend and the hackle may be a bit long. Just remember soft hackles like a Partridge and Orange only need 1 1/2 to 2 turns of hackle.

 

But that's not bad. I would fish it.

Ok cool, 2 wraps it is... Thanks! :)

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looks good! i believe you're right, that hook style is rarely used for traditional soft hackles/north country spiders. i've usually seen straighter hooks without the long bend. but i imagine it'll catch fish. and slightly less hackle as you've decided, and smaller head, to be more traditional, but it's up to you.

 

eric

fresno, ca.

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I've gone to using hen hackle mostly for my soft hackles. Course if you are tying "partridge"and orange then one would expect to see partridge on the hook lol. I'm not so much a purist though. I have seen wire ribs on SHs but I have not or don't remember seeing it on this pattern till today on yours. I use shorter hackle than you did on my SHs and two turns. I see nothing wrong with the head, though I might make mine a bit smaller. I tend to tie these on straight wet fly hooks personally ( 3906B sounds familiar, maybe 9671 Mustads, I'd have to open my fly case to look but I'm on the couch right now with my morning coffee). Nothing says you can't use a bent hook, yours might be a tad long but I bet salmon would like them that way.

 

One of my favorite SH patterns ( because the fish think so) is peacock and hen. On that you might expect to see a fine copper rib counter wound over the herl, fwiw. Mine has no rib but I think the next round of them I tie will have a silver tag wrap or a gold floss tag wrap at the back. Yep, I think my fish will like that !

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