Lionsfan96
New member
Hi all. This is my first post on a forum. I was wanting to get into tying and fishing soft hackles. Any patterns or tips for a beginner?
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Soft hackle flies
- Thread starter Lionsfan96
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dharkin
Well-known member
coug
Well-known member
Best advice you can get! Dave Hughes also has a book on soft hackles and wet flies that is very good.
sparsegraystubble
Well-known member
I have a couple of Nemes’ books and the one by Dave Hughes. On tying particularly, I got a lot more from Hughes. Hughes has some innovative tying techniques that create a much more durable fly.
His hackling style particularly is of value. Basically he ties the hackle in at the eye of the hook by the tip and winds it back down the hook to the front end of the body where the tying thread is waiting. He then ties off the hackle and wraps the tying thread forward over the wound hackle. This uses the thread to reinforce the weak hackle stem.
Until I used Hughes’ method, I seldom had a soft hackle fly last more than one or two fish. It is easy to do and very effective.
Don
His hackling style particularly is of value. Basically he ties the hackle in at the eye of the hook by the tip and winds it back down the hook to the front end of the body where the tying thread is waiting. He then ties off the hackle and wraps the tying thread forward over the wound hackle. This uses the thread to reinforce the weak hackle stem.
Until I used Hughes’ method, I seldom had a soft hackle fly last more than one or two fish. It is easy to do and very effective.
Don
bigjim5589
Well-known member
Great advice already given! :worthy:
Size is possibly of more importance than the actual pattern. There are many good ones, so whatever you decide to try should produce some fish.
Try a couple of sizes in the same patterns. Keep them simple.
Keep in mind too that such wet flies might imitate a variety of things that fish will eat, and any fly that will imitate more than one item on the menu is not a bad fly to fish with.
When I lived in MD and had the opportunity to target trout, I tied some versions of the more popular soft hackles, usually in 10, 12 & 14 sizes. Also used some tied with the small size Diamond Braid type materials, and a soft hackle. Copper and Black was a good fly for me as was a metallic green & black. You can find some of these metallic braids in craft stores, usually on spools. Kreinik is a brand that I've used and has been sold as a fly tying material in the past. Still good when you can find it.
It can be surprising with all the more complex flies being touted these days, how such a simple fly can produce so well, but they certainly can!
Size is possibly of more importance than the actual pattern. There are many good ones, so whatever you decide to try should produce some fish.
Try a couple of sizes in the same patterns. Keep them simple.
Keep in mind too that such wet flies might imitate a variety of things that fish will eat, and any fly that will imitate more than one item on the menu is not a bad fly to fish with.
When I lived in MD and had the opportunity to target trout, I tied some versions of the more popular soft hackles, usually in 10, 12 & 14 sizes. Also used some tied with the small size Diamond Braid type materials, and a soft hackle. Copper and Black was a good fly for me as was a metallic green & black. You can find some of these metallic braids in craft stores, usually on spools. Kreinik is a brand that I've used and has been sold as a fly tying material in the past. Still good when you can find it.
It can be surprising with all the more complex flies being touted these days, how such a simple fly can produce so well, but they certainly can!
dillon
Well-known member
It depends on what species of fish you are pursuing and where. The books mentioned are primarily about trout in rivers, but soft hackles are also effective for some warm water species in Lakes.
sparsegraystubble
Well-known member
Dillon makes a good point. Soft hackles are one of my most productive patterns for trout in lakes, especially in the mornings and evenings. Often the trout you see splashing really are taking emergers just under the surface.
And a yellow soft hackle was always my fly of choice for bluegills.
Don
Lionsfan96
New member
Mainly trout in the lower illinois river in oklahoma.
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bigjim5589
Well-known member
These are a little over dressed for soft hackles, but they worked well and are not difficult to tie. I used them for trout & other fish. The body is rabbit dubbing, and the tails are fluff from dyed grizzly saddle hackles or chickabou, and the collars are hen grizzly. The rib is fine pearl. As I mentioned, sizes 10, 12 & 14 were what I used most.
bigjim5589
Well-known member
These are similar and others that I had success with. Can you tell what colors I liked?
Olive always was good for me!
Olive always was good for me!
Rip Tide
Well-known member
I grew up fishing traditional wet flies as a kid and still fish soft hackle flies most of the time today.
I have a few favorites, but "matching the hatch" is important, but you don't need to go crazy.
Generally you want to go larger and darker in the earlier season and smaller and lighter colored as the season goes on.
Different shades of fur along with hackle that might imitate the wing coloration.
My favorites include the partridge and peacock, the dark cahill, and the partridge and orange.
The partridge and orange is for brooktrout and it doesn't even need to be orange. Any bright color works..
The dark cahill or any other hare's ear colored softhackle.. It's an Adams in motion.
The partridge and peacock is my favorite. I use it anytime, but mainly as a alderfly emerger.
I'm more likely to use woodcock than partridge for hackle but once you learn to "choke-up" on your hackle, you can use nearly any game bird breast feather that you might like.
Current speed is also a consideration.
The softest material for slow current but stiffer in fast current... so they don't plaster down.
Think dry fly hackle.
However, the most important thing with fishing soft hackles is to imitate the actions of the naturals.
Drifters ? Emergers ? Egg layers ?
That's all observation and experience
Here's where you should start
Don Bastian Wet Flies << Wet fly photos, recipes, interesting information and other fly tying endeavors
I have a few favorites, but "matching the hatch" is important, but you don't need to go crazy.
Generally you want to go larger and darker in the earlier season and smaller and lighter colored as the season goes on.
Different shades of fur along with hackle that might imitate the wing coloration.
My favorites include the partridge and peacock, the dark cahill, and the partridge and orange.
The partridge and orange is for brooktrout and it doesn't even need to be orange. Any bright color works..
The dark cahill or any other hare's ear colored softhackle.. It's an Adams in motion.
The partridge and peacock is my favorite. I use it anytime, but mainly as a alderfly emerger.
I'm more likely to use woodcock than partridge for hackle but once you learn to "choke-up" on your hackle, you can use nearly any game bird breast feather that you might like.
Current speed is also a consideration.
The softest material for slow current but stiffer in fast current... so they don't plaster down.
Think dry fly hackle.
However, the most important thing with fishing soft hackles is to imitate the actions of the naturals.
Drifters ? Emergers ? Egg layers ?
That's all observation and experience
Here's where you should start
Don Bastian Wet Flies << Wet fly photos, recipes, interesting information and other fly tying endeavors
Last edited:
coug
Well-known member
planettrout
Well-known member
These three books:
https://www.amazon.com/Tying-Fishing-Soft-Hackled-Nymphs-Allen/dp/1571884033
https://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Flymphs-Evolution-Soft-Hackled-Wet/dp/151694500X
https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Fishing-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0QT37ZWCDRJSP4KQAJ54
Allen McGee takes tying soft hackles to an entirely different level with his third book (above).
You can see some of his work here:
Allen McGee's Riverfly Angler
These are some of Allen's patterns and many of mine that I tied up for a visit to the Firehole River in YNP in September 2017. They all worked...
PT/TB
https://www.amazon.com/Tying-Fishing-Soft-Hackled-Nymphs-Allen/dp/1571884033
https://www.amazon.com/Spiders-Flymphs-Evolution-Soft-Hackled-Wet/dp/151694500X
https://www.amazon.com/Fly-Fishing-...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=0QT37ZWCDRJSP4KQAJ54
Allen McGee takes tying soft hackles to an entirely different level with his third book (above).
You can see some of his work here:
Allen McGee's Riverfly Angler
These are some of Allen's patterns and many of mine that I tied up for a visit to the Firehole River in YNP in September 2017. They all worked...
PT/TB
randyflycaster
Well-known member
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This is also a very good book:
https://www.amazon.com/Tying-Fishin...t+hackles+flies&qid=1565097000&s=books&sr=1-7
https://www.amazon.com/Tying-Fishin...t+hackles+flies&qid=1565097000&s=books&sr=1-7