Swinging Soft Hackles

Traditional Soft Hackle: Partridge and YellowHere’s an old technique that had fallen to the wayside, but is now coming back. The truth be told . . . it’s almost like cheating.

Cast . . . swing . . . jolt! . . . fish on!

Why would someone NOT fish soft hackles? No need to worry about drag free drift. Flies are easy to tie. Catch fish on the “dangle”. Jolting strike. Use floating fly line. No strike indicators to complicate life. I don’t get it. It’s too simple. I just came off the Sturgeon after a short mid-day outing, landing 4 fish on 6 hits. Not bad for the middle of the afternoon on a sunny day in May with no hatching activity.

From what I read, the soft hackle presentation originated on the other side of the Atlantic. Silk wrapped around the hook shank, sparsely dressed with one or two wraps of partridge hackle. That’s the original soft hackle wet fly. Depending on what color silk adorned the hook shank, would determine if you ended up with Partridge and Yellow, Partridge and Orange, Partridge and Green, or Partridge and whatever.

Of course, now, there are many variations on that theme. Soft hackles can be tied to represent specific caddis pupae or mayfly nymphs on their journey to adulthood . . . with and without bead heads, flash, etc.

Cast the fly on a light leader (to allow the fly to sink). Aim your cast across and downstream. Throw in one or two quick mends. Lower your rod tip to allow the current grab your fly line and move your fly Hard Hitting: Even small trout smack soft hackles hard.broadside in the current. If your fly makes it to the end of the swing, let it dangle there a moment. Finally, lift your rod tip slowly to simulate an emerging insect. Of course, there are variations to this basic presentation, but how simple can it get?

Here are two variations to that basic presentation. First try adding a periodic twitch during the swing. This will cause the hackle fibers to “pulse”, making your fly look alive. Secondly, you don’t have to wait until the end of the swing to raise your rod tip. Try the emerging bug trick when your fly swings past a submerged boulder or log.

Give them a choice. Two different patterns, twelve to eighteen inches apart, make sense, too. In quicker water, you might even want to add a B-sized shot fifteen inches above the first fly. But beyond that, there’s really not much else you need to do.

The best time to use soft hackles is when fish aren’t rising . . . although that’s a good time, too.

If you see caddis flies in the air, but no surface feeding activity, BH Pheasant Tail Soft HackleBlack Caddis Pupatie on a soft hackle caddis. If you’re at the front end of a mayfly hatch sequence, when nymphs are active, but few have actually hatched out, tie on a soft hackle mayfly. If there’s absolutely nothing going on at all, but you still want to be on the river, tie on a soft hackle whatever.

Now, here’s the kicker. The “take” is a JOLTING experience. The fly is actively swinging through the current, on a tight line connected to your rod tip. When a trout decides to WHACK that bug, you know about it INSTANTLY. No ifs . . . ands . . . or buts.

When the fish aren’t rising, but you’re certain that there should be subsurface insect activity, tie on a soft hackle, and get ready for a jolting experience.