This fly has been catching trout for more than 500 years, but it’s my “secret weapon” for post-spawn finicky smallmouth. Give it a try for bluegill, too. I think you’ll agree this is a fly that you should always carry.
You can find step-by-step photo instructions and downloadable video at http://www.flyfishohio.com
Enjoy!
Joe C.
Since I don’t have any partridge, I sometimes use teal as a substitute. So I guess its a Teal and Yellow. 
Simply…The BEST!
look good i only have olive partridge though so it would be a olivepartridge and yellow :shock:
i bet it would still work though
lol
chris
Hi,
Spider (or soft hackle) patterns are wonderful fish catchers that can be fished in just about any manner; up stream, down stream dead drift, down stream swing, retrieved back up stream, fished deep, near the surface, even ginked and on the surface. Donald Nicolson’s site (a FAOL member) is a must view location for anyone interested in various styles of wet flies, especially on the various “styles” of wingless wets / spiders / hackled flies / flymphs / etc.
I’ve had great luck with a “Pritt’s water cricket”, which is a starling hackle, yellow body with a black rib (optional). Can also be tied with an orange body. Mind you, I’ve also had good luck on what I call a “woodcock and candy cane”, which is a woodcock feather for hackle, and a red and white spiral body, which doesn’t look like any bug I’ve ever seen.
The Partridge and X series are wonderful in just about all combinations. The “white with black specs” feathers look very buggy, but one shouldn’t overlook the brown feathers from the partridge as these produce a nice effect also. The dubbed thorax adds a bit of bulk, which probably helps most in faster or off coloured water. I’m not sure on that though, and really need to do some more systematic tests to decide if there is any rhyme or reason behind why the fish will have a preference to take a thoraxed pattern one day and not the next? Similar with adding peacock hurl in front of the hackle as a “head.” Some (Sylvester Nemes I think) suggest this may have started as imitating the larger heads of caddis fly nymphs as they rise up to emerge, which sounds good enough to me.
There are some streams I’ve fished where specific patterns work much better than others while on other streams (or days more like it) almost any spider works. For example, I’ve caught fish on what was simply a bare hook with a hackle wrapped on it. The floss for the body had come off after being torn by the fish’s teeth. Or, when fishing a team of 3 spiders I’ll find that fish will take any of the 3 equally. On other days, when fishing the same team of 3 spiders, I’ll find that one of the patterns catches all the fish while the others seem to be ignored.
tied a few today. Hope to try em out on Sat or Sun for gills.
Jeff,
Do you have a link or URL for Nicolson’s site?
Thanks
Dave
I think this is it http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/
Joe C.
Dick Walle up in Toledo, Ohio has been promoting soft hackles for decades, and it’s nice to be reminded they will take species other than trout. There are not many fish that will ignore a soft hackle offering. Thanks for sharing your “secret weapon” Joe.
JoeV
Joe V
I might be heading your way in the next couple days - and possibly a few times over the next three or four weeks. Care to fish the “Big Water”? I’m even thinking of a trip up to Presque Isle. Email me off-board.
J
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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 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 
.
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