Bead Headed Soft Hackles

[warmfishernc]

Bead in front of or behind the hackle? Why?

Thanks

[Uncle Jesse]

I am a long way from expert but the bead may be to simulate a bubble, a head, another body segment, for weight, some one tried it and caught fish with it that way.

Why not?

[Joe Billingsley]

I am certainly no expert either, but if I want the bead to simulate the thorax, I'll put the hackle in front of the bead. If I'm using the bead just to add weight and get the fly down a little deeper, I'll wind the hackle behind it.

Joe

[Eric-WD]

the bead behind the hackle keeps the hackle flared more in fast moving water. This keeps the fibers out showing movement instead of pasted down to the side of the fly. Or so I have been told.


Eric

[Normand]

tyers choice! experiment.

[texfly]

I've seen patterns with the bead in back. It might have caught fish , but it didn't catch me. Boy that thing was ugly.

[Darryl]

I like them either way. Seem to catch trout for me regardless of position of bead on hook.

[thorarinna]

I like to have the bead in front of the hackle as I like to have the butter on top of the bread, not under it.
One moment here, if I put the butter under the bread I can turn it around.
If I put the bead behind the hackle it could be another body part.

You should not ask so complicated questions, I was quite happy with my simple life as it was.
Now I have to rethink everything all over again.
I'll be in touch when I have figured it all out!

[appalachian angler]

Beads on a softhackle??? Blasphemy!!!

Seriously, I typically use small glass beads behind the hackle on small caddis pattern SH's to simulate the gas bubble on the rising pupa. Nothing wrong with using them as you see fit.

aa

[Donald Nicolson]

I have tied some S/H with beads, but apart from
caddis using small glass beads, I don't think that
they improve the fly.
But, I could be wrong, and it seems to me you should
not use too big a bead, small is beautiful. This may be
purely cosmetic, but a fly that looks right usually
works right.