Goto soft hackle patterns for trout

[raven4ns]

Hello,
I live in Dartmouth, NS and I fish brookies, rainbows and browns. Trout is the only specie I fish and I practice C&R because I enjoy seeing them swim away unharmed. Years ago I tried soft hackle flies without success but I wanted to give it another go.
May I ask what pattern(s) you feel is your goto pattern for trout? Even though you don't fish my waters I feel confident that the patterns you are successful with will likely be successful for me as well. Thank you for any and all help.

Tim

[Mike Connor]

That is in my opinion completely the wrong approach, and though it may occasionally work for some things it is not much use in most cases. To a very large extent, HOW you fish is more important than the patterns you might use. If you fish correctly AND have the right patterns, then you will succceed. There are a few generally successful patterns of soft hackles but even these will only work well when fished properly.

[Mataura mayfly]

Hey Tim,
Interesting question and it will be interesting to see the replies.
I am not going to pretend I know anything of your local waters, but for me it is a kind of match the hatch thing when selecting the fly to use. There is also presentation to think about and if you are casting to a rising fish (or pod of fish), or prospecting likely looking waters.
The size of fly can make a lot of difference as well, not much point in swinging a size 8 stonefly when they are taking midges in the film.

Go-to soft hackles for me, imitate small dark mayfly nymphs or equally sizes caddis style ties. Snipe and purple being one of the first I will go for, but soft hackle pheasant tails are pretty good options and cover a lot of bases, usually in a size 14-16 and maybe 18 at times. Gold ribbed Hares ear is also a good stand-by.
For me I like to be able to see what is in or on the water and try to match the size and colour roughly, then it is all about presentation and how the fly is fished, suited to the situation at hand. Depth the fly is presented probably is one of the bigger challenges you can face here, getting the fly into the strike zone without drag and presented as a natural would act is maybe 80% of the challenge sometimes, but that challenge can have rewards!

Neat question for an opening post, lets hope you get some fun and informative answers. Welcome aboard.

[DUBBN]

Peacock and Partridge has become one of my favorites the past couple years. Sizes 16 - 10



Hares Ears tied with Partridge or Hen is a must pattern for me. sizes 16 - 12



Muskrat



I have been using alot of other patterns the past few years, but these three are staples for me. Some days I get lucky and catch a trout on them too.

I apologize for the picture quality. I am not too good at it.

[letumgo]

Tim - Let me offer you a hearty welcome to the forum. Look around, and you will find lots of information, patterns and useful knowledge about soft hackle flies.

[Old Hat]

Welcome Tim,

There is no doubt that Mike is correct. The right presentation and fly at the right time is key. A little research on presentation will go a long way. With that said, having the right pattern to me is about having a good selection of color, size and shape. You could do very well for your species with just a hare's ear in different sizes, different shapes (skinny and fat), and different colors.

Starling and purple, grouse and orange, partridge and green, pheasant tail, hare's ear (different colors), red hackle peacock, and any attractor pattern would be what I would suggest as a start as they are all well proven that should catch fish anywhere.

[raven4ns]

Thank you guys for the welcome and the suggestions. Hopefully, this time around I will have more success with them than before. My goto wet fly is the Wooly Worm and it is deadly but I wanted to have a few others that I could have the same confidence in, which is why my question. Thank you again.

Tim

[Mike Connor]

Perhaps I should expand somewhat on that. The woolly worm is indeed a very versatile general fly pattern, and if you find it deadly then you have obviously found at least some of the ways to use it effectively. The problem with small basically imitative flies like soft hackles is that they are not quite so versatile, and indeed are really quite limited in application. They only work well when fished in certain ways and often also under specific circumstances. Fishing small imitative flies can be very difficult indeed. They wont work well when fished inappropriately. You have to find out the best ways to use them, just as you did with the woolly worm. This board concentrates on "wingless wets" ( but what is usually understood by that is indeed small soft hackles, as the woolly worm itself is also a "wingless wet" as such) to the exclusion of all else, which can be problematic, as there are many many situations where a soft hackle might not be the best choice. It is a very specialised form of fishing. It can be very successful indeed but you need to know how.

The woolly worm can be dressed and fished in very many ways to imitate all sorts of things, which makes it very versatile indeed. Small soft hackles can not be successfully fished in all these ways. It can take some time to find out how to use them properly.

[Old Hat]

Perhaps I should expand somewhat on that. The woolly worm is indeed a very versatile general fly pattern, and if you find it deadly then you have obviously found at least some of the ways to use it effectively. The problem with small basically imitative flies like soft hackles is that they are not quite so versatile, and indeed are really quite limited in application. They only work well when fished in certain ways and often also under specific circumstances. Fishing small imitative flies can be very difficult indeed. They wont work well when fished inappropriately. You have to find out the best ways to use them, just as you did with the woolly worm. This board concentrates on "wingless wets" ( but what is usually understood by that is indeed small soft hackles, as the woolly worm itself is also a "wingless wet" as such) to the exclusion of all else, which can be problematic, as there are many many situations where a soft hackle might not be the best choice. It is a very specialised form of fishing. It can be very successful indeed but you need to know how.

The woolly worm can be dressed and fished in very many ways to imitate all sorts of things, which makes it very versatile indeed. Small soft hackles can not be successfully fished in all these ways. It can take some time to find out how to use them properly.

3 cheers.

[DUBBN]

I fish Soft Hackles from top to bottom for trout. I can't think of many situations where they don't or can't work. Oh yeah, they don't work well when left in my fly box. That's about it.

I must say though, I fish almost exclusively on moving water. The fish I target range from high pressured tail water trout, to freestone trout that haven't seen much fishing pressure. It may be a regional thing as to why I have success with these simple patterns. Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and New Mexico, do not take in a lot of area for quality trout waters. Sadly, that is the area I am relegated to live in. The silly fish I chase seem to take Soft Hackles in a variety of methods/techniques.

I do believe it's a matter of confidence why some people do well with one style of fly over another. The more time you spend casting Soft Hackles, the more fish you will catch. The more fish you catch, the more comfortable you become with flymphs, Soft Hackles and winged wets. I suppose the same rings true with dry's and streamers.

Welcome to the board Tim. I look forward to you posting your progress in your quest to master the flymph.


Wayne