Soft hackle fly patterns have been around since pretty much when fly fishing started. That does not mean they aren't effective now. In fact, they are still very effective, and in some circumstances more so. They are relatively easy to fish, and fish tend to bite hard on them and will almost rip the rod out of your hand! They are really good at fishing the hard to fish riffles. Cast about 30 degrees down stream, and let the line take the fly. This style of fishing is called swinging. You can either just keep your rod tip still, or shake the rod for a little more action. When you reach the end of your drift, make a few little bumps on the tip of the rod, and leave it for an additional 10 seconds or so. Then take a step or two down stream and repeat. You cover a lot of water, and always seem to entice those super active fish! We all know that is a recipe for a fun fight!
This fly is tied in an olive body with porterage hackle. The body is tied a bit fatter than most soft hackles, and it mimics the body of a caddis. The hackle mimics the legs and head of the caddis. Caddis tend to emerge quickly up to the surface, and trout know this. So swinging this fly quickly through fast water is a great way to get bites.
These are quite easy to tie once you get the hang of tying in the soft hackle. I can usually tie out 10-20 of them an hour, so I can fill a box quite quickly! Also the materials on this are rather inexpensive, and you really dont use that many. Just a hook, thread, wire, poly yarn, and a porterage feather. Very simple, yet effective!
As always I listed the materials I used on this fly.
Hook: TMC 3761 in size 14
Thread: Veevus 6/0 in olive
Tail: Antron Yarn
Wire: Small Gold UTC Ultra Wire
Dubbing: Olive/Brown Hares Ear Dubbing
Hackle: Hungarian Partridge
Cement: Hard as Hull
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