first soft hackle

[Henrik Thomsen (DK) 0]

The T. E. Pritt - North Country Flies (originally Yourkshire flies) has recently been re-printed by Cock-y-bondhu books, and it is worth every penny....

 

/Henrik

[vicrider 0]

I'm a softie for soft hackles. Caught my first trout on a Coachman about 50 years ago and have loved wet flies since, and soft hackles are among the nicest. I also have a habit of tying too much hackle on. If you look at pics of the classics you can count the hackle on them. I also think too long hackle never hurt anything, but of course I could be wrong. The fish can decide. If I want a softie to go down a little deeper I'll use wire instead of thread body, and sometimes a bead behind the hackle. A bead or herl will help the hackle stand up better and give a more lifelike representation. I was kind of disappointed to order some soft hackle before a trip of a certain type (Red Ass Kelso) for White River to find they had very short and laid back hackle. Not the way I like it or the books show it.

[Losthackle 0]

Just found this link by accident & thought it is of interest. (page 2 isn't much), but 1, 3 & 4 are good.

 

http://flyfischa.smugmug.com/Flyfishing/Soft-Hackles/20555372_2HrLF3#!i=1628444912&k=Mpwt8wX

[agn54 0]

Those are some great links, Losthackle, thanks for posting them. The one from Fly Anglers is very informative. I see what you guys mean by the shortened body. It seems the start just above the point rather than barb. This has turned into a great thread, thanks for all the information everyone

 

I agree about the fish being the most important judge. Unfortunately, here in Florida there aren't any trout streams to test this one on. I just wanted to try something new. I will probably end up fishing it in a lake, but sometimes the bluegill are so voracious they will hit anything so it won't be a good test of how good the fly really is. One day I plan to make a trip north to try my hand at trout fishing.

[Ed Gallop 0]

fish it!

 

if it catches fish then tie more just like it.

 

theres no right or wrong in fly tying

 

 

I second that! Best answer on this thread. Everyone has opinions, and nice to hear them, but it boils down to what you like best. Softhackles vary a lot and, although I like less hackle (so you don't have to spread open the fibers to see the body) doesn't mean you should. We here are mostly technical minded perfectionist (even myself sometimes) that may confuse a lot of NORMAL people. I tried to like a post and got the message that I've used up all my likes for today, and I haven't liked a post in years. So... I like both Losthackles and Flytire post.

[lykos33 0]

Losthackle, I have the feeling YOU will become one of the forums best resources along with a few others who always have links and info...aka: flytire..

Murray

[Losthackle 0]

AW, gwarsh!

 

I also like FlyTire's response...after all that's how the various styles of soft hackles developed anyway.

 

I also like mvendon's charts...an excellent resource.

 

And my softhackles tend to be messy and, in spite of everything I do, sometimes catch a fish or two.

 

[Losthackle 0]

Cross threading: great thread on Spider softhackles here http://www.flytyingforum.com/index.php?showtopic=76094