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).]