fly of the week

[dhchin]

I have been reccomended this fly on many occasions. However, I have no idea how to fish it! All I have fished are dries and nymphs. Can someone point me in the right direction?

Thanks

[Fisherpup]

Much like a nymph...

Cast down or across stream and allow a drift and swing. Most takes I have experienced we towards the end of the swing as the fly started to rise in the water column.

[baitwaister]

I use mine as a dropper, especially behind a EHC or small stimi.

[JeffHamm]

Hi,
Soft Hackles are very versitile. They can be tied on dry fly hooks as well as heavier wet-fly/nymph hooks. The lighter dry fly hook version can be trapped in the surface film, or once it's water logged, will sink more slowly to fish closer to the surface.

Anyway, they work best in resonably fast water as it's the current causes the action in the soft hackle (according to theory anyway). Ripples are a good place to try them according to Nemes's book Soft Hackle Fly Addict, although I've had most of my luck with them in fast glides just after a good ripple (most, not all).

Fished like a wet fly, it's a basic "cast across, and let dead drift down stream, then swing across; retrieve and repeat". I've had takes at all sections of the presentation (just after casting, as it dead drifts, on the swing, and on the retreive). Takes at times, especially during the drift, have been very subtle (nothing more than an increase in line tension) while at other times there's no mistaking that "tug tug".

However, they can be cast upstream to rising and/or sighted fish (or to just any good likely looking spot) and they work just as well that way too! Sizes 12 and 14 have been my most productive, although I've taken fish on size 16's and 18's as well (haven't tried larger ones actually). As with most statements about "most productive", this probably just reflects "most often tied on".

They can be tied with or without the dubbed thorax, both work fine. The thoraxed ones are probably better in really fast and/or discoloured water simply because there is more of it to see. The body should extend no further back than mid-way between the point of the hook and the barb (some suggest no further back than the point of the hook). The hackle should be very sparse (one turn can be enough). Some patterns involve a "dusting of dubbing" along the body, so you should still see the colour of the body through the dubbing. It should "imply bulk" rather than "have bulk", if that makes sense.

Peacock hurl can be used for the head in many patterns. Patterns tend to be simply recombinations of body/head colour, what kind of feather is used for the hackle, and whether or not you have the dubbed thorax. For example, a "grizzle grey and possum" is simply a soft grizzle feather, grey body, and possum fur dubbed as a thorax.

Anyway, soft hackle flies have been around for hundreds of years, they are a tried and true method. Very simple, very versitile, and very useful.

- Jeff

[This message has been edited by JeffHamm (edited 01 May 2006).]

[dhchin]

Thanks Everyone

Very descriptive Jeff, and very helpful.

Dan

I fish soft hackle wets as a sub-surface fly, using a dry fly hook. On stillwaters, I just slightly raise and lower the tip of the rod, to impart movement to the hackle.
Very effective. ~Parnelli

[okflyfisher]

This fly with a black ostrich herl thorax,and a body that is the general color of the caddis nymphs in your area (often drab olive or dirty tan) makes a killing caddis pupa fly. It was one of my staple flies when I lived in Denver. Occationaly I would add a turn or 2 of tinsel just behind the body. It is simply deadly.

[JeffHamm]

Hi Dan,

The thing is it can be hard to convince yourself that these tiny and sparse flies could possibly be as tempting to the trout as a nice big fat wooly bugger. But they do work, and can be very versitile. Every wet fly or nymph box should have a few soft hackles in there as well.

- Jeff

[DavidInMD]

I've read about this fly before, and the description then called for a special floss for the body in order to keep a bright color when wet. Sure enough, my run-of-the-mill yellow floss fades and allows the hook color to come through when wet. Many may scoff at this, but I compensated by painting the hook yellow in that section, wrapping the floss over that, and am pleased with the results.

------------------
Keepeth they back cast out of the freakin' flora.

[JeffHamm]

Hi DavidInMD,

You can use the change of colour when wet as a "feature" though, and have some with your yellow hooks and some without. It may be that one day one kind will outfish the other with the reverse happening the next. Have you noticed any such difference between the two versions?

I've tied up some white grub like nymphs with a thin layer of white floss over top of bright yellow, or red, etc floss. The thin layer of white softens the colour, and makes it more "mottled" looking. When the fly is fished, the colour is more apparent because the fly is wet, but it's still not as strong as leaving out the white layer. I call them "chameleon caddis nymphs", but I'm sure it's been done before.

- Jeff