Comment on this pattern
Current Tags for This Pattern
/
Brown /
Dubbing /
easy /
Golden Olive /
hackle /
olive /
Saddle /
soft /
Soft Hackle /
step-by-step instructions /
Lil' Olive Soft Hackle
tied by letumgoFly Type: Wet,
General Freshwater,
Target Species: Trout,
Recommended Region: Northeast US,
Material List*:
Hook - Mustad Model R70/Size 10
Thread - Olive UNI-Thread (6/0)
Hackle - Speckled Brown Indian Hen Saddle Hackle (Mostly creamy brown in color)
Body - Kreinik Soie Platte Silk (#2525/Golden Olive)
Rib - Tag end of the tying thread (counter wrapped to protect the silk during fishing)
Thorax - Life Cycle Nymph Dubbing (Medium Olive)
*Materials with links give you direct access to that product at the J. Stockard store.Tying Instructions: Materials are tyed on in the order they are listed above.
1) Mount Thread but leave a long piece (leave roughly 4 inches or 100 mm of thread for a tag end) extending to the back of the hook. This tag end will be used to rib the body and reinforce the silk to keep it from fraying during fishing.
2) Attach hackle to the hook. The hackle will be tyed in by the base of the feather facing out over the eye of the hook. Tye in the feather with the curved side (good side) facing towards you to make wrapping easier at the end).
3) Wrap the thread back about 1/8" (~3 mm) towards the point of the hook and clip off the hackle stem.
4) Attach a single strand of silk to the hook and wrap the tread back towards the bend of the hook. Make sure that each thread wrap is touching the previous on to form a very smooth underbody. Stop wrapping the thread when the thread is half way between the point of the hook and the barb.
5) Wrap the tying thread back to the front of the hook. Stop wrapping when you get the where you want the thorax to start (roughly 1/8" or 3 mm behind the hackle stem).
6) Wrap the silk forward in smooth even wraps. Be careful to leave room for the thorax and head of the fly. Tye it off and clip excess when you get up to the tying thread.
7) Take the tag end of the tying thread (see step 1) and counter wrap the body. This will reinforce the silk and prevent fraying of the silk during fishing. It will also give the rear body a little subtle segmentation to the body. You can skip this step, but I feel it gives the body a little extra touch that looks nice.
8) Dub a small thorax (roughly 1/8" diameter or 2 to 3 mm in diameter). Once the thorax is formed, place the tying thread just to the front of the thorax.
9) Using hackle pliers, clip the tip of the hen hackle and wrap two or three wraps back towards the thorax. Wrap the tying thread over the hackle stem two times and clip off the excess hackle.
10) With the thumb and forefingers of your non-tying hand, stroke the fibers back towards the body of the fly. Form a neat little thread head and whip finish.
11) Coat head with a small drop of head cement.
Presentation Tips: Cast upstream and let fly sink to the depth that you want to fish. Stop the movement of the line and let the current pull the fly towards the surface of the stream (Liesering Lift). Actively work the fly by gently wiggling the tip of the rod (back and forth a couple inches). This will animate the fly and cause fish think that it is a live insect.
Thanks for the detailed lesson on fishing an active retrieve, Mark (Soft-hackle). I hope I listened closely enough to absorb the technique. Please correct me if I have the details wrong.
