most productive soft hackle trout fly

[Johnno]

Peacock And Black... or Peacock and Starling...

Thick bodied, thin bodied.. black hen or starling. It’s a winner......

[DUBBN]

The Yellow Sally hatches are winding down. The PMD hatch is going strong. The trout are telling me what my most successful pattern will be.
It has no name.

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If I had to choose my most productive pattern of all time it would be a drab gray soft hackle called a Muskrat.

[letumgo]

What size/model hook is that Wayne? Is that one of your patterns? Really nice body work.

[raven4ns]

One problem with me is that the rivers I fish are so far away I can't get on them all of the time. It's difficult to follow the hatches on rivers when your presence is sporadic at best. I know on some rivers like the Margaree and the Middle have a good Yellow Sally hatch yet on other rivers I have never seen this hatch. It's enough to drive a man to drink...
This is one of the reasons I wanted to try soft hackle flies because of their ability to mimic several species of insects. My wet fly that has been the most productive for me is the Woolly Worm but instead of a wool butt I use red barbules. I have caught Brookies, Rainbows, Browns and Salmon on this one fly, it is my goto fly. It would be great to have several flies to have that kind of confidence in even when you don't see any hatches.

[redietz]

One problem with me is that the rivers I fish are so far away I can't get on them all of the time. It's difficult to follow the hatches on rivers when your presence is sporadic at best. I know on some rivers like the Margaree and the Middle have a good Yellow Sally hatch yet on other rivers I have never seen this hatch. It's enough to drive a man to drink...
This is one of the reasons I wanted to try soft hackle flies because of their ability to mimic several species of insects.

Soft hackles do mimic several species and is one reason I like them, but there are trends to what color & size insects predominate throughout the year, that apply pretty much everywhere. The patterns that Pritt described for month in North Country Flies work very well for me, even though I live an ocean and many degrees of latitude away the River Wharfe, and experience none of the same insects. That's because biology dictates that, for example, that insects in winter are going to be small and dark. As spring starts, they can get larger and lighter in color. The term "April Grays" doesn't apply to any specific insects, but many of the flies that are around during that month are predominately gray/olive. In the heat of summer, terrestrials like ants and beetles are going to be an important source of food, regardless of what river you fish. And come autumn, you'll see orange-ish caddis that match the color of fallen leaves, even if you don't have an "October Caddis."

Obviously, the month-by-month approach needs to be adjusted for climate. I doubt that you do much fishing in February, for example, and my (and Pritt's) April may be your May or early June. And there are always outliers that don't follow the trend.

You mentioned not always having Yellow Sallies in response to Dubbin's post, but may not have noticed that he also mentioned PMD's. Those aren't the only yellowish flies that hatch around the same time at any given latitude (for me that time was late spring/early summer.) The same fly can work equally well for sulfurs, yellow sallies, Light Cahills, Yellow drakes, Little Maryatts, etc. Just vary size. Even if one of those insects isn't in your river, another probably is, and around the same time of year.

OTOH, there's a school of thought that says "most of what trout eat is 3/8 of inch long and brown." Guess what? That's a perfect description of a wet Partridge and Orange. Many versions of a Pheasant Tail, as well.

What it boils down to is to definitely have some generalist year-round flies, but also carry some generalist, but seasonal flies. You don't have to match species, but smaller and darker in winter early spring, larger and lighter later in the year, with some terrestrials in summer, is a good rule to follow.

[BrkTrt]

Bob,

OTOH, there's a school of thought that says "most of what trout eat is 3/8 of inch long and brown." Guess what? That's a perfect description of a wet Partridge and Orange. Many versions of a Pheasant Tail, as well.

So very true.
Thanks

Alan

[Mike62]

Soft hackles do mimic several species and is one reason I like them, but there are trends to what color & size insects predominate throughout the year, that apply pretty much everywhere. The patterns that Pritt described for month in North Country Flies work very well for me, even though I live an ocean and many degrees of latitude away the River Wharfe, and experience none of the same insects. That's because biology dictates that, for example, that insects in winter are going to be small and dark. As spring starts, they can get larger and lighter in color. The term "April Grays" doesn't apply to any specific insects, but many of the flies that are around during that month are predominately gray/olive. In the heat of summer, terrestrials like ants and beetles are going to be an important source of food, regardless of what river you fish. And come autumn, you'll see orange-ish caddis that match the color of fallen leaves, even if you don't have an "October Caddis."

Obviously, the month-by-month approach needs to be adjusted for climate. I doubt that you do much fishing in February, for example, and my (and Pritt's) April may be your May or early June. And there are always outliers that don't follow the trend.

You mentioned not always having Yellow Sallies in response to Dubbin's post, but may not have noticed that he also mentioned PMD's. Those aren't the only yellowish flies that hatch around the same time at any given latitude (for me that time was late spring/early summer.) The same fly can work equally well for sulfurs, yellow sallies, Light Cahills, Yellow drakes, Little Maryatts, etc. Just vary size. Even if one of those insects isn't in your river, another probably is, and around the same time of year.

OTOH, there's a school of thought that says "most of what trout eat is 3/8 of inch long and brown." Guess what? That's a perfect description of a wet Partridge and Orange. Many versions of a Pheasant Tail, as well.

What it boils down to is to definitely have some generalist year-round flies, but also carry some generalist, but seasonal flies. You don't have to match species, but smaller and darker in winter early spring, larger and lighter later in the year, with some terrestrials in summer, is a good rule to follow.

So well said. I think this post should be printed on cards and carried in leader wallets to be referenced in times of consternation.

[raven4ns]

Hi Bob,
Thank you for your post, it is a more defined approach to the rivers I fish then what I have been using. It has always been a problem for me as to which fly to use when I rarely saw hatches on the rivers I fish. You have helped me define an approach that should work regardless if I see the hatches or not. Sometimes things need to be written down and explained by someone else to help clarify your own thoughts and that is what you have done. Thank you.
While I have been fly fishing for a long time I suspect that I have been successful more by good luck than good management. In any event, the problem I felt I had by not fishing a river consistently has been reduced including not seeing hatches when I was fishing. Again I want to thank all that have participated in this discussion for helping me see things a bit clearer. I have enjoyed your responses to my question and especially those responses that went beyond my narrow view.

[DUBBN]

What size/model hook is that Wayne? Is that one of your patterns? Really nice body work.

http://wholesaleflycompany.com/item/fly ... d=45822431

size, 16.
Great hooks at a great price.

[BrkTrt]

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A pretty good fly to have in your box.

Alan