Partridge and Orange new school

[upstatetrout]

Tinsel = old school

Bead = new school

Check the heading

Tom

[joaniebo]

Many years ago, somewhere in the 2007 time-frame (or before), a fiend in Europe sent me a pic of a Pheasant Tail & Partridge soft hackle that used a gold bead as the thorax. Since then, I've included the bead in many soft hackles including dressings with a thread, feather, dubbing ,etc. body. My personal opinion is that by having a bead between the body and hackle, it might appear (to the fish) as an air bubble. Whatever the reason, dressings with the bead thorax have worked well for me, especially those with pheasant tail and hare's ear bodies.