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 Post subject: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Sun Feb 21, 2016 11:55 pm • # 1 
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Joined: 12/31/13
Posts: 309
Location: Magnolia, Texas
There's not been a recent discussion on soft hackles, so why not start one?

I've been tying a BUNCH of these guys up lately, refilling boxes. Dreaming of trips to come.

Here's some size 12's & 14's - yellow lite brite dubbed bodies and olives. Partridge hackle.

Image

Here's some of my others - lights, mediums, darks, and peacocks. Various soft hackle feathers used.

Image

Image

These guys use pheasant feathers for the hackles:

Image


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Mon Feb 22, 2016 9:24 pm • # 2 
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Joined: 07/10/09
Posts: 1555
Location: Plano Texas
You have far too many of those beauties, there's enough there for five of us to join you in introducing them to some unsuspecting fish. :applause


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Tue Feb 23, 2016 1:57 am • # 3 
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Joined: 12/31/13
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Location: Magnolia, Texas
I have enough to arm a dozen... I've probably got a giant box worth of soft hackles by themselves. I fish a lot of them. :)


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Thu Feb 25, 2016 1:47 am • # 4 
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Joined: 08/15/15
Posts: 15
Location: Bonner Co. North Idaho
I'm with you M M. If I had only one fly to fish and try to put dinner on
the table, it would be a soft hackle fly/

Crunchy


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 6:36 pm • # 5 
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Joined: 11/27/08
Posts: 453
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon
I have hundreds of various flies and I mostly fish with soft hackles. It's my default fly. Also theyare fun to tie from #16 up to #8 hooks.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 12:46 pm • # 6 
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Location: New Jersey
Nice. Soft hackle flies just seem to make sense thanks to the motion of those feathers. I'm going to guess that they don't receive a lot of attention because of their simplicity? I fish them often with both traditional and tenkara fly rods.

On YouTube, InTheRiffle says he's caught more trout around the country on a soft hackle pheasant tail than anything else. Have seen and read from others who also claim that this or that soft hackle is their best performer. They're just plain buggy.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 4:20 pm • # 7 
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Joined: 09/13/15
Posts: 79
I admit to being largely ignorant when it comes to soft hackle flies. Other than a couple of lakeside trips I've seen them mostly fished by folks wading downstream.

I had some success with using one as a trailer fly but no better than a standard bhpt.

Gotta admit those in the pics above look great.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 7:23 pm • # 8 
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Location: Magnolia, Texas
The magic of the soft hackle is that they can be fished in a wide range of styles - you can rub them with a little floatant on the body and fish them in the film as a dry / emerger. You can fish them as a nymph under an indicator, or without an indicator. You can swing them (casting across and down and letting the fly swing across the current on a semi tight line). You can fish them upstream and retrieve the line with the current. You can twitch them. You can fish them in lakes and ponds with a hand twist retrieve, or stripped in like a tiny streamer.

Their simplicity belies their effectiveness. They just look buggy and there's something about the way a soft hackle pulses in the water that the fish find hard to resist.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:03 pm • # 9 
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Location: Coppell, TX
Enjoy reading this thread and beautiful display of flies. What defines a soft hackle, is it the material that protudes vertically from near the hook eye? I use Stimulators that look's sort of similar to some in the display.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:11 pm • # 10 
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Soft hackles are pretty much what the name implies. The barbules on the feathers used are soft, not stiff. Hungarian partridge is one of the most commonly used soft hackles. The mottling on the feathers makes each barb look all the more buggy.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Wed Mar 09, 2016 10:46 pm • # 11 
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Nice ties.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Sun Mar 27, 2016 7:03 pm • # 12 
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Joined: 10/27/12
Posts: 87
Location: Sacramento, Ca
I tie them English "north country spider" style, very sparse. My absolute go to fly in streams, and surprisingly effective in stillwater when it's very clear water and calm.

That's a LOT of soft hackles you've tied up there. :)


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 10:08 pm • # 13 
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Joined: 03/11/12
Posts: 298
Location: Suburban Chicago
I tie all kinds of varieties of softhackles. They're my favorite fly to fish.


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 2:56 am • # 14 
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Joined: 12/31/13
Posts: 309
Location: Magnolia, Texas
softhackle wrote:
I tie all kinds of varieties of softhackles. They're my favorite fly to fish.


Never would have guessed that from your moniker :lol


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Sun Apr 24, 2016 12:18 am • # 15 
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Joined: 03/11/12
Posts: 298
Location: Suburban Chicago
Maybe I should be more subtle. :)


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 Post subject: Re: Soft Hackles
PostPosted: Fri May 27, 2016 6:07 am • # 16 
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Joined: 01/19/12
Posts: 204
Location: Italy
I'm with you: I love soft hackles even if I make dry flies a lot more that stiff hackles.

My preferred are mallard and partridge, that I grease, and cul de canard.
In last times I'm trying even hen and pheasant hackles.
I find them a lot more natural and effectives that **** hackles.


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