Soft hackle technique

[LT]

Ran across this technique for tying in softhackle. I had not seen it before and thought it was pretty interesting.

ps. he refers to a straw as a swizel stick.

http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/tyingtips/part22.html

[Wayne Jordan]

Thanks for the link, I've never thought of doing that.

[Daryle Holmstrom]

Good idea, I've used the straw technique for years but use it to push the hackle back and then hold with my fingers. There were still a lot of ouch mixed in. This would probably work with dries too. Thanks for the link.

Daryle

[mike doughty]

I just use my fingers to pull backle the hackle, works fine.

[Zen Piscator]

i just use my fingers too, serves the same purpose. What is a straw, same as a swizzle stick or something? What a wierd name.

[Mike Etgen]

Here's another link (maybe even posted here in WFF during some earlier thread) that's been particularly helpful to me and is also related to tying soft-hackle flies, especially in regards to allowing one to finish with a neat, compact head:


http://www.danica.com/flytier/steps/poe/poe.htm

[Kent Lufkin]

Thanks for sharing - both the straw technique and tying in the hackle feather first are clever ideas. But like most, my fingers seem to work best.

K

[John Hicks]

Thanks for the ideas. I will have to use them. I do tend to like my hackle a little more erect though (no jokes Jim or Kent). The fact that it is soft makes it flow back in the water but also puff out adding life to the fly.

[Tim Cottage]

The fact that it is soft makes it flow back in the water but also puff out adding life to the fly.

I think this is one of the keys to the effectiveness of the soft hackled flies.
Most, but by no means all of the hundreds of photographs and illustrations that I have seen of old soft hackles show a more upright hackle.

TC

[tightlines]

oops--double post. Sorry.

[tightlines]

I noticed the first technique asked to tie in the hackle tip first, and the second called for tying the hackle in quill end first. Which way is better?:confused:

[Les Johnson]

I tie all of my soft hackles and marabou tip first. It puts the longest fibers on top allowing the shorter fibers to hold the longer ones out a bit. Also, a few turns of soft hackle is better than several. In my view too much hackle hampers the movement of the hackle when it is swung through the current. Finally, a tip first hackle makes it easy to finish with a small, neat head.
Good Tying,
Les Johnson

[chadk]

I'm a begginer tyer and haven't tried soft hackles yet, but plan to this spring. But I did find that when tying with marabou, i'd often have the same issue - getting the fluffy feathers in my wraps or even having them get glue on as I super glued the head. I got in the habbit of taking a heavy salmon hook, blowing back the feathers, laying them back with my hand, then simply laying the heavy hook over the fly\feathers to pin them down while I finished wrapping and gluing. Worked pretty well and saved me some frustration.

[TheShadKing]

Most, but by no means all of the hundreds of photographs and illustrations that I have seen of old soft hackles show a more upright hackle.


I'll third this.

[TheShadKing]

I noticed the first technique asked to tie in the hackle tip first, and the second called for tying the hackle in quill end first. Which way is better?:confused:

The one that works for you. Literally. I don't think there's a right / wrong here.

I used to tie in tip first; I went to see Sylvester Nemes tie, and he did it the other way 'round, quill first. So I switched. I can't see as it makes much difference in the tie. But the quill end first to me (and not to argue) makes it easier to get a neat head, because there are more wraps covering the thicker end of the quill.

I think a bigger difference is whether you take the thread back through the wraps, and how widely spaced (not that they can be _that_ widely spaced!) the quill wraps are.

If you're starting, I would start by stripping all of one side of the quill. It's far easier to lay down and keep the quil from wrapping. After you get the hang of it, you won't need to do this, but some people like that approach.


Rolland