Really nice renditions Bill. I have been playing with this idea of a "dry fly" with some of the softy properties, especially for picky trout in slow water for a long time. I have been through a lot of prototypes hoping to find that one that just seems to work. Haven't been able to find it yet. Oh, they work, but nothing that seems to out perform just a simple Partridge and Yellow/Orange/green on a light wire hook or a Stewart's style spider. If I really want to go go dry in those situations I haven't ever found a better pattern than a Comparadun.
Jerry Criss and I go back a long time (at least as my fly fishing adventures are concerned). We were both members of the Central Oregon Flyfishers and were just a very small minority who enjoyed the pleasures of soft hackled flies and spiders. Jerry is a wonderful and studious tier and fisherman who spends countless hours on the water "testing" patterns. I like to fish tried and true patterns, tweak them a bit, change colors etc and hit the water confident that I'll catch fish and not too concerned with catching the most fish. Jerry is one of those types that will go after the same fish in multiple days with different variations of a pattern until he catches the fish. Most of his patterns spend a lot of time wet in the Fall River of Central Oregon. Not an easy river. Gin clear, quite a bit of pressure, and smart fish. I can usually be assured that if he says it is a good pattern, so it is.
Anyway, I took a photo of the fly in question here that he was tying. Notice that the dry hackle is very short, purposefully. It only serves a functional purpose, to give your pattern a longer float, but allows the partridge hackles to lay upon the water and retain it's attractive movement. It is not long like many of the Jingler patterns. He also uses Coq de Leon fibers for a tail to aid in a longer float time.
Soft Hackle Dry fly
Moderators: William Anderson, letumgo
Re: Soft Hackle Dry fly
I hate it when I think I'm buying organic vegetables, and when I get home I discover they are just regular donuts.
http://www.oldhatflytying.com
http://www.oldhatflytying.com
Re: Soft Hackle Dry fly
Some important points to remember, Carl, especially concerning the real function of the short rooster hackle. Thanks for the info.
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"