The Case for Soft-Hackle Effective fly design using a century old concept By James A. Capes Over the past decade I have been noticing a consistent change in the flies that have earned a home in my fly boxes.  The change I've observed is a growth of legs, wings, antennae, or gills. No, I haven't found a new material that magically grows over time.  What I have found out is how effective soft-hackle materials are at imitating these body parts when built into my flies. I’m not just referring to trout patterns either. Over the years I have found a place for soft-hackle flies when fly fishing for most any species. Wet Fly Archetype When the term “soft-hackle” is used, it can be referring to several types of feathers. All soft hackle can be broadly divided into two groups; one group, the soft feathers taken from a hen chicken; the other, feathers from game and wild birds, the most utilized of this group being partridge, grouse, pheasant, and starling. Historically there are few, if any, wet flies that are older in design than flies using soft hackle as a collar or palmered body. It often baffles me that more fly fishermen have not taken advantage of one of the most effective fly designs EVER created.  The most famous of these historic patterns, which still see common usage today, are flies that are made of a floss body, a simple dubbed thorax, and soft-hackle collar. These would be the "Partridge and (color)", series of flies. The Partridge and Orange or Partridge and Yellow are wonderful flies which will often times out-fish most modern realistic nymph patterns. However, the purpose of this writing is to help spread the word about the power of soft-hackle in flies of your own design or innovation. If you have any interest in exploring this whole world of wet flies, you first need to understand why soft-hackle materials are so irresistible to fish. If Monet where a fly fisherman… He would have loved patterns with soft-hackle. Why? First off, patterns that contain soft-hackle tend to present the fish with an impressionistic imitation. Anytime you present a fish (regardless of species) with a fly that could be one of several types of prey, you have upped your chances of cracking that particular fishes feeding code/pattern at that particular moment. If we look at trout and other river-dwelling species that feed on aquatic insects, an impressionistic pattern (in this situation) is again an advantage. By using an impressionistic soft-hackle pattern, you have a chance to present the fish with a fly that can simultaneously match the nymph, pupa, emerger, and adult portions of the insect’s life cycle. A common example of this effect comes from one of our warhorse, go-to patterns for a variety of species, the Woolly Bugger. Why is a 'bugger so effective? Because it is impressionistic and acts as several different imitations at once. Is it a Leech? Yes. A Stonefly? Yes. A Crayfish? Yes. A drowned Terrestrial? Yes. This is the power of impressionistic patterns. When a Woolly Bugger is tied with a nice, soft hen hackle, the pattern's fish-catching ability increases even more because of the soft-hackle “X” factor. The “X” Factor What is this soft-hackle “X” factor? The ability of soft hackle to "come alive” when submerged, an ability stiff rooster hackle simply lacks. G.E.M Skues, one of the founding fathers of modern wet-fly fishing referred to the soft-hackles seductive movement as “kick”. “Kick. This is the quality which every hackled wet fly: for use in rough water, should invariably have. Without it, it is a dead thing; with it, it is alive and struggling: and the fly which is alive and struggling has a fascination for the trout which no dead thing has” G.E.M Skues In our times no man has done more to promote the concept of the soft-hackled fly than Sylvester Nemes. In his first book, The Soft-Hackled Fly, he describes this “X” factor in the following passage: The soft partridge or snipe or starling feathers with their tapered barbs, mold themselves against the body with the tips away toward the tail of the fly. There is a natural lump or thorax created at the front of the fly, by reason of the tapering of the barbs, the thicker part being closer to the stem of the feather. As the fly floats downstream, these barbs close in and out, squirm against the body of the fly, and react in a life-like way to every little kind of pressure. The most important element in any soft-hackle pattern is, not surprisingly, the hackle. By transplanting soft-hackle collars, beards, and palmering into other families of flies, trout anglers no longer have to be solitary in their appreciation of soft hackle flies. The effectiveness of soft-hackle and its applications are only limited by the tiers imagination. Trout, steelhead, bass, panfish and saltwater patterns can all benefit from the fish-lulling power of soft-hackle. Soft-Hackle in Action Loren Williams, a professional fly tier and guide from New York uses soft-hackle to great effect in a traditional sized steelhead pattern called the Steelhead Pat. Loren designed this pattern as a fly for spring and summer Steelhead as well as Atlantic Salmon.  He notes that this fly tends to be especially effective when fishing to steelhead that have been receiving heavy fishing pressure. Steelhead Pat by Loren Williams Recipe Hook: Partridge Salar CS14/1G Thread: Fire Orange Tail: Brown Hungarian Partridge Fibers Rib: Gold Oval Tinsel over rear ½ of body Body: Rear ½ Fire Orange Floss; front ½ Rusty Australian Possum Hackle: Two sections of undersized Grey Hungarian Partridge, followed by a collar of Brown Hungarian Partridge. If large enough, a third section of undersized Brown Partridge may be added. Personally, I have also found that soft-hackle patterns can work wonders on Great Lakes Steelhead. After noticing the total lack of soft-hackle flies in my steelhead boxes, I came up with a fly I simply call the “Steelhead Soft-Hackle”. After much success with the classic trout soft-hackles, I had a hunch that steelhead may also be drawn in by the “X” factor. I was correct, and the Steelhead Soft-Hackle continues to be one of my go-to flies for Great Lakes Steelhead. Steelhead Soft-Hackle by James Capes Recipe Hook: Mustad 3399, Size 8 Thread: Brown 6/0 Tail: Brown Goose Biots Rib: Black Vinyl Rib (small) Body: Hares Ear Dubbing Thorax: Orange Estaz Hackle: Brown Hungarian Partridge Another example of soft hackle effectiveness can be found in a famous warmwater pattern by Harry Murray.  Living in New Jersey, I am in close proximity to the warmwater section of the Delaware River and often target Smallmouth Bass with the fly rod. I have found Murray’s Strymph in assorted colors tough to beat. There is no doubt in my mind that the pulsating soft-hackle collar has much to do with this fly’s effectiveness. Olive Strymph by Harry Murray Recipe Hook: Mustad 9672, Sizes 2 through 8 Thread: 3/0, color to match body Body: Olive, black or cream Rabbit fur Tail: Ostrich Herl Collar: Brown Hen Neck Soft-hackle collars can also be added to many "standard" nymph imitations to increase their level of animation as well. I have seen a marked difference in my trout catch rate when I fish a soft-hackled Hare's Ear or Pheasant Tail as opposed to a non-hackled version. The bottom line is that soft-hackles work; they will give your fly box an added dimension and may be used on anything from midge to saltwater patterns. Soft hackle necks are fairly inexpensive and easily attainable as well. If you are a tier of dry flies, the price of hen necks comes as a refreshing change to that of their rooster counterparts.  One piece of advice I would give when purchasing Hungarian Partridge is to get yourself an entire skin. This way, you have a full range of feather sizes, all of high quality. The pre-packaged partridge tends to be 70 percent fluff and 30 percent bent and damaged feathers! If you have trouble locating full partridge skins the Brahma Hen necks from Whiting are also an excellent substitution. To Learn More If you are interested in learning more about soft-hackle flies and their history, I would highly recommend the following books. Wet Flies by Dave Hughes, Stackpole Books; 1995 The Soft -Hackled Fly  by Sylvester Nemes, Stackpole Books; 1975 The Soft-Hackled Fly Addict   by Sylvester Nemes, Stackpole Books; 1993 Two Centuries of Soft-Hackled Flies  by Sylvester Nemes, Stackpole Books; 2004 James Capes is a custom fly tier and river guide from New Jersey.  He can be contacted through his website: http://www.autumnbrookangling.com/     Hatches Magazine Subscription Price: $6.95 for each issue The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.