FLYMPH FORUM

I have seen and occasionally tied a double hackle soft hackle fly. That is, one with a partridge and then a brown hen hackle in front of the partridge. Or a brown hen with a black hen hackle in front. Does this style have a particular name? Does the style impart any particular advantage or disadvantage over the single hackle variety?

Is the rear hackle palmered on the double hackle flies you've seen? Sometimes there's two hackles as the rear hackle is stiffer and helps support the front soft(er) hackle. Other times the front hackle is a face hackle and the rear hackle is palmered. The face hackle is also softer than the palmered hackle.

I can't speak for all double hackled flies, only the patterns I tie and use.

In Douglas C. Townsend's book Fly-tying with Harold Howorth (1980) They list a few double hackled flys. This being a hen or rooster hackle and a game bird hackle tyed one in front of the other. Tyers choice as to which or pattern demands. I think they're cool, I keep a few in my fly boxes.

I, too, think it looks pretty cool. The first one I tyed was by accident, brown behind black. Loved the look but as a novice I am unsure how to properly use the technique. Now I understand the stiffer versus the softer. What about color combinations, any history or classical ties, etc?

In NYMPH FISHING FOR LARGER TROUT Charlie Brooks uses double hackles as collars on some of his big nymphs. He tied his nymphs in the round, so he did not trim the fibers off the top.

Double hackles (wet, dry or mixed combinations) are quite common on steelhead flies, streamers, and a number of fly styles. It can be a contrasting collar of natural or dyed Guinea or a contrasting color. A second wound philo plume hackle gives the Gartside Sparrow its head.
This simple tube fly is contrasting marabou colors and is a total soft hackle.



If I were to give your fly a name, I might just describe it as a bivisible SH. When it comes to a rear palmer double hackle don't ignore the old bivisible dry flies or Spey flies. A reversed Partridge second hackle is used on the French dry the Assassine. Multiple hackles are wound on the Tricolore.

The tyer may use the double hackle for visibility, support, or for color contrast among other ideas. Consider the double hackle color blend on a Adams dry fly.

In "The Book of the Rough Stream Nymph" 1947, William Lawrie has some patterns of "hatching duns" in which he uses two hackles. One is called a wing hackle and the other a leg hackle. They are inter wrapped like you would on an Adams. However, the leg hackle is trimmed on top and the wing hackle is trimmed on the bottom. I have played with these a bit and still can't figure out the best way to accomplish this. Usually, I will just wrap the wing hackle first. Cut off the bottom. Then wrap the leg hackle through and not trim it at all. I have found his Hatching Dun March Brown to be quite effective.

Wing hackle: dark partridge
Leg hackle: dark red cock
Body: medium hare's face spun on orange thread
Rib: fine gold wire
Thorax: Reddish dubbing
Whisks (tail): 3 cock pheasant tail fibers

I never thought about that book " The Rough Steam Nymph" for a reference on double hackles. I've read the book a few times and it never picked up on it.