# Tying Soft Hackle Flies



## chuckmiester (Sep 9, 2007)

I knew i wasn't the greatest at tying soft hackle flies, but after seeing bushrats partridge and orange soft hackle i realized i needed a lot of help. so i am wondering how to tie the hackle (and what kind of material to use) to soft hackle flies. also what sort of tips are their to making them look good and perform correctly.


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## bushrat311 (Sep 11, 2007)

Tying soft hackles isn't too difficult once you get the hang of it. You want the hackle fibers to be long enough to extend just past the rear bend of the hook. Most of these flies are tied with hackle which is too long. I'm real particular about the feathers I use for soft hackles. Don't buy a bag of random partridge feathers, getting a full skin is well worth it. That being said I mostly use feathers from birds I've hunted myself. Hungarian partridge is the "standard", but I really like using ruffed grouse (great brown-gray coloring) and blue grouse (amazing blue dun color). In fact I used ruffed grouse hackle on my "Winter Swap" flies.

I tie the hackle in by the tip rather than the traditional method of tying the hackle in at the stem. I prefer to tie the hackle in at the stem. First, strip away the downy fibers from the stem.

Then, while holding the feather with the shiny, or convex, side of the feather facing you. Wrap tightly with a number of turns and trim off the excess stem. Now, wrap your thread securely to just back of the eye of the hook.

Carefully attach your hackle plier to the tip of the feather. Remember, soft hackle is soft. It is easy to break off the tip and thereby lose your grip of the feather. You should try to grasp the tip of the stem. I use rotating hackle pliers to make it a little easier. 

As you wrap the soft - hackle around the hook, gently "fluff" the fibers to separate them and allow them to space evenly around the hook shank. While still holding the hackle plier, tie down the hackle with a number of thread wraps.

Hope this helps!!!


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## ScottyP (Sep 12, 2007)

Here is a cool video on soft hackles: 




I have low quality bag feathers so I just use the method where you notch the feather and size it to your hook by tying it in without wrapping. I tie it in forward and upside down, then draw it back and whip a head over it if that makes any sense?


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## BrookTroutKid (Oct 10, 2007)

Pretty good video Scotty P


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## Packfish (Oct 30, 2007)

Many feathers are good for the soft hackle. Starling and the male pea**** breast are great.
Partridge etc. Putting a bead behind the hackle is an easy way of consistently making your hackle flair the way you would like it to. You really don't wrap the hackle. You pull the feather after you tie it in to the length that it needs to be. So you can basically do it with any sized feather. I can't look at the Youtube so maybe that video is showing it. But it's very simple and easy to do. A little bead behind the feather sure makes things simple.


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## Wild One (Nov 3, 2007)

One thing you might want to keep in mind is that most soft hackles should be tied sparse. This one was tied by stripping the downy feathers from both sides of the feather and all of the fibers up the tip from one side, leaving only half of the feather's barbs to work with. Tie the stem of the feather on first wrapping from the bend of the hook up to the eye where the barbs are sitting curvature up, or towards you. Wrap thread back to bend put in the ribbing, dubb it up the barbs, wrap no more than 2 1/2 wraps of the feather ensuring it is sparse enough to suggest legs and create LOTS of movement.



This one was tied with out stripping one side of the feather. The hackel is too thick for me and the barbs are also a little too long, but it should still catch fish.



Hope that helps a bit :wink:


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## RnF (Sep 25, 2007)

This is the way I like to tie in my soft hackles using partridge feathers. This technique is nice because you don't have to worry about feathers that have fibers that are too long for the fly you are going to tie.

You just tie in the length you need. It is also really good for tying small soft hackles size 20 and smaller.

http://www.charliesflyboxinc.com/flybox ... rentID=155


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## Tyson (Dec 27, 2007)

On bigger flies like 12s and 10s I will wrap the feather one and a half times. On 14s I like to just cut some fibers and tie them on near the eye pointing out, then after wrapping the body pull the fibers back around the body and tie them down, like you would do legs with pheasant tail. Its not the proper way but I find it easier and you can use about any size feather and cut fibers to the right length and sparseness. 

I use a fly I call a silver spider that is partridge, grey dubbed thorax and silver tinsel body that makes a great crippled emerger for about any hatch. Drift it, swing it or grease it in the film it is one of my better working flies lately.


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