I think I have read the entire fly-tying section by Al Campbell, one pattern that I would like to learn how to tie is the soft hackle using partridge. They are a good pattern for here in Missouri, what are some good “types” of partridge, and how much should I get? It seems they are expensive, are there alternatives, or to get a good fly do you need this. Also any other patterns that illustrate the tying of these patterns would be great. Thanks.
Drew
A bum-legged old man and a drunk. That’s all you got?
That’s WHAT I got.
When a patttern calls for partridge it usually means hungarian partridge. The best way to get it is to buy an entire skin if you can’t shoot one in your area this fall. Feathers from other game birds such as ruffled grouse or chuckar also work well. If you bag a bird that isn’t too shot up just skin it and dry the skin with borax.
all leaders tangle; mine are just better at it than most. Jim
zim… I love tying and fishing soft hackles. One thing I have found is if at all possible, buy the skins and not the pre-packaged feathers. I have read somewhere that the skins hold oils even after being processed so the hackle stem stays softer and wraps better than the bagged feather where the stem can dry out and split.
Mike
There is no greater fan of flyfishing than the worm.
Thanks again to everyone, tied a couple of soft hackles last night, didn’t turn out too bad. I used some hen neck soft hackle, and ordered a partridge from one of the sponsers, kept it in “the family”, also cost less. When I get my digital camera I will take a picture of my creations, it is really quite fun to tie these.
Thanks again.
Drew
A bum-legged old man and a drunk. That’s all you got?
That’s WHAT I got.
I will risk being flamed for advertising.
Our JV hens were developed for use of wet and dry fly wings.
After having them on the market for over 5 years our customers have found them to be (from what they tell me) the hackle of choice for Sof Hackle flys.
None of the books or articles and patterns we use tell you this so one has to take the word of the tiers using them, or try them yourself.
There is a reason for them being so good in tying Soft hackle flys. These JV’s are not barn yard hens but are true Genetic hens and all have the user friendly stem we tiers are used to in tying our dry flys. The plus side is the barbs flex in the water and attract fish better.
I have just returned from a 18 day jaunt down into Oklahoma and Arkansas and fished more soft hackle flys than ever before. My total fish brought to hand was the highest I have ever experienced. Why? I have to lay it on the JV hen hackle.
Several years ago I imported several breeder pairs of Hun Partridge and enjoyed breeding and selling them. Because of the JV hens we sold all of our breeding stock of the Huns this past year.
If you have not tried the JV hen hackle for your soft hackle flys, you are missing out.
Just my 2? worth from a breeder/tier/fly fisherman.
We do have lots of colors to suit your needs.
Denny
If you like to fish softhackles, and want to use hungarian partridge, I don’t think you can do better than buying an entire skin. What’s expensive to one tier may not be expensive to another. Be your own judge… a full skin is about $20. If you think that’s expensive, think about how many ways you can blow $20… a couple of lunches during the week, about a dozen cups of coffee, about 10 store-bought flies. Unless you are a professional tier, my guess is that one skin will last you a lifetime.
Another solution… find someone to split it with. Buy one skin, turn it over and score teh back with an x-acto knife or razor blade. 1/2 of a skin is probably still a lifetime supply.
