The Partridge and Yellow- A Classic Trout Fly

[cholcomb13]

Nice what's around the throax???

I tied some yellow sallys....using pale yellow dyed hen


this is a yellow legged boa....but works just as well

[cornmuse]

Nice what's around the throax???

Nice Ties!

The thorax of the flies shown at the top of the thread is touch-dubbed mole. You can use any of a a number of soft, fine furs or even synthetics, but mole is a bit more traditional and I love the way it dubbs.

Joe C.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Dave,

The link Cornmuse gave is Donald's site. Lots of information there, and lots of patterns and variations to play with if you get into experimenting with different styles of spiders and wet flies.

And cholcomb13 those are some very nice ties! Should do well.

Thinking of a few of the streams I fish, all the flies shown in this thread would work really well in the ones that have very clear and swift moving water, especially on a bright warm sunny day. On one stream though, where the water is often more discoloured, I've found only black patterns produce with any real regularity, but that may be specific to that one stream.

- Jeff

[Warm Water Fly Fisher]

what are your techniques for fishing softhackles? I've tied a bunh but haven't fished them yet. I will mostly be fishing Warm Water for bass/gills. Do you let them drop or fish them on top? Subsurface maybe? If you let them sink do you twitch them slowly or just let em sink than recast?

Thanks
WWFF

[cornmuse]

If I'm fishing stillwater I like a very slow hand-twist retrieve. Perhaps 1 to 2 inches per second. I also like to use a flourocarbon tippet to sink the fly. I've also found it effective to hang a soft hackle off a slider or cork popper. Often I'll have fish (especially bass) that will come to look at the bug and will suck in the soft hackle instead.

On flowing waters I like a down-and-across swing that is near a dead drift. I use a curve cast to place the fly downcurrent of the tippet and mend until the fly swings to a point where the line comes tight. Then I like the same hand twist retrieve.

I always fish them slow.

Joe C.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,

I primarily fish them in moving water and typically in a down and across manner. I'll cast upstream a ways, then drift them down and past me, letting line out to extend the drift. I try to keep the line just about tight to the fly, but not quite, and look for subtle changes during the drift. Once the fly is in swing mode, hits will be easily felt and often jolt me from a contemplative moment.

Generally, I fish a team of 3 wet flies, so often I will have 3 spiders. Other times I might have a palmered fly on top (say, an Invicta or Soldier Palmer), a winged wet in the middle (Peter Ross, Royal Coachman, Greewell's Glory, etc), and a spider on point. Generally, I'll fish the runs and the riffles and work down towards a pool, fish through the pool, and out the other side. Often one picks up fish before getting to the pool, or just as you're fly exits the pool and into the next glide. Occasionally the fish will rise up from the bottom of the pool to take the fly near the surface though. Most times, if the run is long and straight, I'll just let out line and fish long, then slowly retrieve the line back by knitting it into my hand. Lots of hits using wet flies occur during this phase. If the stretch of water is a fairly short section, then casting upstream and keeping the fly line off the water (only the leader and the team of flies in the stream) can be productive. As the flies drift past, turn to keep facing the flies until they drift past you, as if tying to keep the line straight between the reel and the fly; this aids in keeping the dead drift with "just about there" line tension. If you are keeping the line off the water, don't point the rod skyward, rather it should "point" the same way you would normally point it, just hold it higher up, with your rod hand up around your ears.

Most of my spiders have been tied on wet fly hooks, which are heavier than dry fly hooks. Because these patterns tend to have such a slim profile they will sink during the drift without the need to add lead or a bead. Casting upstream also helps to get them to sink to the desired level (whatever that happens to be on the day). Of course, on really fast water they don't have much time to get down that far, but I generally am looking for "quickish" but not really fast, sections. Also, I tend to fish water that is about knee to mid-thigh deep, so even a fly on the surface is close enough to the fish that they may go for it.

I've started tying some spiders on lighter, dry fly hooks. Tied this way, on slower water with a nice smooth surface, you can gently drop them onto the surface where they immitate something stuck in the surface film (a dead and beat up adult, or a still born, etc). Used in faster water, these will simply not sink as much allowing you to fish near the surface over the entire drift, which can be useful if the fish are feeding on or at the surface. The heavier ones may sink below the feeding fish.

If you tie some on dry fly hooks, I would fish them just in the surface film letting the wind blow them around. Some heavier wire hooks could be left to sink slowly, then slow retrieve to make them swim to the surface to emerge.

- Jeff

[cholcomb13]

I'll usually fish them the same way as mention but usually I drop it off of a bead or tungsten bead nymph to help get it down....surprisingly fish bypass the bigger nymph and take the spider.

[JeffHamm]

Hi cholcomb13,

I'm convinced, well, strongly believe, or should I say "will say in public with some confidence", that it's the movement in the hackles that the fish key into when it comes to spider patterns. As I've said before, I've caught fish on what amounted to no more than a bare hook with a soft hackle tied around it; the floss body had come off. A larger bead-head nymph often doesn't have that soft enticing "come hither" look that beckons from the gentle waving arms of the soft hackle. Slim profile, with tiny waving bits, and that's dinner to a trout. I've had days where the spider is taken over a winged fly, regardless of where the two are placed in the cast (i.e., spider in the middle and winged on point, or vice versa). Other days it's equal, and other days the reverse is true. Fun stuff!

- Jeff

[cholcomb13]

Jeff I agree...partridge (soft hackles) movement....WOW....I will say after inspecting the river lots of bugs but the small golden (yellow) stones looked a lot like my spiders.

Not to hyjack this thread I believe cornmuse's intent was there is something to be said about the simplicity of these "classic" patterns....and the rate at which they catch fish...which brings us back to Jeff's comment re: movement.

Cornmuse I agree I've started to tie a lot of my modern nymphs in a soft hackle variety .

[Jeeves]

Hi there, softhackles have always fascinated me a lot, but since my practical experience with them is very limited, I found this thread very very helphul.., thanks to all who have posted.. Please advise what size range of hooks you use for them? /My first soft hackles were tied on size 12 heavy wire hooks/..I guess it is quite different in a general searching situation or during a certain hatch.. still have to find out..
Thanks
Cheers