The Amazing Soft Hackle Fly

A Soft Hackle Fly

The soft hackle fly dates back almost 500 years with the early patterns of Dame Juliana Berner. It is believed that soft hackles were refined in the sixteenth century but were somehow were lost in time. However, in 1975 Sylvester Nemes wrote a book entitled The Soft Hackle Fly which helped to revive its neglected history.

Soft hackles are fun and easy to tie. They are very effective for trout, steelhead, bass and other types of fish. All that is required to tie this fly is a floss or wool body, dubbed thorax and a partridge or pheasant soft hackle.

A variety of colors can be used to suggest caddisflies, mayflies and other insects. It is a versatile pattern that can be used in almost any water type and it is a good searching pattern. The effectiveness of this pattern is not only due to the soft hackle feather, but it is also due to the thorax behind the wing. Without it the hackle would fold around the body and the fly would lose its tantalizing motion.

The easiest way to fly fish the soft hackle is to use a simple downstream swing with a few mends or to let it swing freely and let the current ply the soft hackles. A fish will set the hook firmly if you keep the rod tip pointed at a low angle. Short takes and misses will occur if the rod is held high.