1st Annual N.G.T.O. Fly Swap

Fly photos courtesy of Michael Lim.

The Soft Hackle

from the vise of Loren McCune

Last Fall I was frustrated (normal state) while waist-deep in the Hooch at Island Ford. Fish were vigorously attacking something on the surface that I couldn't see. The books say that violent rises often mean caddis pupa or micro caddis pupa that are very small and hard to see. I decided to tie soft hackles to go after them. I posted this on the Board and received email supporting the use of soft hackles (secret weapons they were called.) Phil at the Fishhawk led me to the materials I now use. I like a scud-type hook, he likes a wet-fly hook.The "tail" is a shuck. Caddis have no tails. As yet, this hasn't been a secret weapon for me, but, maybe this Spring. I note that the hatch chart for the Southern Appalachians lists soft hackles frequently. I like the hook and will fish them in various colors. I tie them weighted and non-weighted, with and without the shuck, and sometimes with beadheads. Those in the swap are not weighted.

Dave Hughes in his American Fly Tying Manual lists a March Brown Spider (these very old flies were first called spiders) as his "very favorite fly when it comes to searching a riffle or run at a time when no insects are hatching and no trout are rising." The March Brown is a brown version with no shuck, hare's fur body, and gold rib.

Hook:        Tiemco 205BL size 14

Thread:     Rust (black is fine too, since caddis pupa have black heads)

Shuck:        (Optional) Antron (light yellow? I'm mostly colorblind)

Body:         Life Cycle caddis dubbing from Waspi - caddis yellow

Thorax:    Peacock herl (black ostrich can also be used)

Hackle:    Gray Partridge

(Note: I've seen this tied with a black ostrich thorax and black ostrich head, sandwiching the hackle. That's probably more realistic. Caddis pupa have very long legs and long antennae that point backward, so a soft hackle is really a good imitation of this "leggy" creature.

Directions

Tie in the shuck and "round" it when cutting to length. Dub to thorax so that the body is chunky and becomes larger toward the head. Most soft hackles are thin-bodied, but this is not caddis-like. Tie in 3 peacock herls by the tips and wrap around the thread three or four times. Wrap this peacock "rope" around the hook to form the thorax. Select a Partridge feather and strip fluff off. Also strip the barbs off the outer side of the stem curve so that only the barbs on the inside curved stem remain. Tie in by the tip, clip the ends and wrap sparsely so that each wrap is outside the other wrap and the legs point back toward the hook point. This takes some practice (like you get when tying 20 identical flies. Hope you got a later one.) Tie off, clip hackle stem and form a head. Cement.

How To Fish

Caddis pupa dart to the surface prompting violent rises because the fish have little time to wait on this tasty item to come to them. Fish downstream, deep and let it rise quickly to the surface at the end of the drift. Some fishermen use a "dump cast" to let extra line out just in front of a rising fish. The line length is selected to allow the fly to rise just ahead of the fish. They are also good in fast water at middle depths.

Best Fishes,

Loren

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