Green Butt soft hackle/ my variant is the one minus the peacock.
Its a bit off, major glare to me is that it needs a longer hackle and a smoother tapper. But I bet a trout will eat this sucker anyway.
Nice job, What size are they?
Very nice! Smallest I’ve tried is size 22. These look a challenge!
- Jeff
Really nice and really tiny for sure! I like soft hackle flies, but many that looks challenging that size!
Skip
Thanks
Jeff you got me beat there size 20’s
and yes I had the magnifiers on :shock:
30’s I don’t hate myself that much :lol: Yep Starling.
Guess tiny is in the eye of the beholder 8)
Ill do better if not smaller and post some late tonight.
JJ
Wow! I’ll have to double check, because those look much smaller. Different brand of hook maybe? I think mine were Teimco (or something like that, I picked them up quite some time ago, and the box was stolen with my fly tying kit last Feb.
- Jeff
Nice lookin little softies. Are those Mustad 20’s, if so, they are slightly smaller than TMC 20’s.
If you need really small peacock herl, look on the back side of peacock swords. There is usually some really fine herl there that works well for tiny flies.
REE
If you need really small softhackle feathers, english sparrows aren’t protected in most places, An air rifle serves well to harvest one or two. We have two parakeets in our nursing home, and my aides routinely pick up and bag feathers for me. I have some unique colors in very small sizes.
Good lookin’ flies! 
The hooks look close to the size of a TMC 20s to me but they’re bronze. Here is a size 20 soft hackle on a TMC I just tied up:
Ohh great now I gotta find the vintage coins to keep up. :lol: :lol:
Very nice flyidabelangler!! So whats the hackle and how did ya do it ?
I got another couple shots of tonights ties here also.
I am actually using. Dai-Riki #135
Anyone else wanna show em feel free but please expect to answer a couple of questions from this squinter. If I just cant figure out how you do what you did.
Idabel and JJ,
Good looking flies from both of you. My problem is that I can’t see to tie them on a tippet that small.
REE
Ron I hear that ! After my latest trip to the eye doctor. I went fishing and have to use small 7/8 x tippets and I just got my first pair of flip magnifiers so I can squint less and fish more while one the water.
I have decided to get some new hackle pliers, finer scissors, and thread all things I have needed for a year at least. Any Suggestions ? Hooks?
Was just pricing my local tying suppliers catalog the want $4.25 a spool :shock: for “12/0 ULTRA-FINE THREAD from Giorgio Benecchi of Italy is really tough. Unwaxed multi-strand 100-meter spools. GREAT FOR TYING Size-18 and smaller.” there description. WOW thats a little rich for my blood hope there are more options when I get there. Its a big one so I just might luck out.
JJ
8/0 uni thread at hook and hackle is 20% off. from $2.25 down to $1.80 per spool of thread
I like your new flies JJ and I hope '76 isn’t considered vintage yet because I may be well past my prime now! The hackle I used was plain 'ol Med Light Dun Hen Neck hackle. I find it perfect for the soft hackles I fish around these parts, and it can tie soft hackles from 8s to 30s. Here are two pics of three different flies I’ve tied using the same cape. The dime has the size 20 TMC plus the dreaded size 30 TMC soft hackle on it. The other is a size 12 soft hackle tied with punch yarn. For about seven bucks a cape it’s hard to beat the versatility.
Ya guess I will have to wait for spring for sparrow around here or put out some feed. Cause the pellet gun was after them and starlings most of the summer and they are a kill on site species in Missouri to bad there aren’t more like me around maybe there would be a few more swallows with nest sights around here.
Ok back to the lil soft hackles…no need to get the thread pirates in here…:lol:
Speaking of threads, here some I like for small (20 and under) flies.
Gudebrod 10/0 if you can find any, buy all you can afford. They are going out of business and it probably is hard to find. Great thread, strong enough for small flies, binds material well, flattens very nicely, and according to Ed Engle, is rated as a true 16/0 by Chris Helm. I was lucky to find a shop going out of business and bought all they had, which wasn’t much.
Wapsi 70 denier Ultra Thread. Really silky, flattens well, binds materials very well, but frays easily. I still like it.
Danville 6/0 waxed. This stuff really ties nicely. Flattens to almost nothing, binds well, doesn’t fray easily, and is very usuable on small flies.
I’m sure there are others out there that are just as good, if not better, but those are the ones I use use and VEE uses them too.
REE
Anybody try Uni Caenis Thread ?? I was just looking at j. Stockard, and they say its about 20 denier! I think I’ll buy some spools of tiny thread from a few companies this winter and do some experimenting.
RC,
Don’t know about others, but I haven’t tried it. Now that you bring it up though, I may be placing an order with J. Stockard for a couple spools of that and also the Uni 17/0 trico they also carry. Only drawback to the Trico is that it only comes in white, but a permanent marker will color it nicely.
REE
Great looking flys both you guys
I use Sheer 14/0 for my really small stuff.
Made in the UK get at the summerset show every year.
Size 22 to 28 soft hackles and drys.
Wetflyguy,
That’s the Gordon Griffiths Sheer, correct? Very good thread. Forgot all about that one. Thanks for reminding me.
REE