Soft Hackle Beginner !

[MuddlerDaddy]

I was reluctant to post this image but what the heck ! Im basically just getting started with Soft Hackles but looking at the image Im aware of the areas to work on ! As they say "The fish wont care !!" But I do !
What do you see?

[DNicolson]

A very nice fly, nothing to be ashamed of there.
A nice sparse hackle and the body is very good.

[Soft-hackle]

Nice job! Keep tying like that. I'm not sure, but I think I see a little tag of thread, and it looks like one of the hackles is cut, but you know, that is not going to matter. These little, minute things can be easily fixed - remedied.

Mark

[tie2fish]

You appear to be off to a great beginning, MD. As Donald points out, that body is very well done, and the photo image is crisp and clear.

[DOUGSDEN]

Dear MD,
Great looking pattern! Keep on going friend! There are alot of patterns out there to immitate and create yourself also!
DD (Dougsden)

[Mike Connor]

I was reluctant to post this image but what the heck ! Im basically just getting started with Soft Hackles but looking at the image Im aware of the areas to work on ! As they say "The fish wont care !!" But I do !
What do you see?

It will catch fish. If you are trying to improve "appearance" and robustness. Make sure you take the thread right up to the hackle, and abut your hackle to it. If you don't there is more chance of the hackle unraveling. The head is a bit large. This doesn't matter much, but most people prefer small heads. You can avoid the short "tag" of silk by pulling the silk tight and using a sharp blade to cut it. The resulting very short tag will usually disappear altogether. If your scissors are sharp enough, with a little practice you can use one of the edges on your scissors like a scalpel.

Macro photos show up even very small "errors". For practical fishing purposes most don't matter.

TL
MC

[MuddlerDaddy]

Hey Guys,
Thanks to everyone for the comments ! Should I have made a few wraps thru the hackle to lock it in? I agree with Mike that the head is too large with too many wraps of thread. I dont know what happened to the body with a gap before the hackle ! And there IS a tag end of thread. I will be posting more as I go along and appreciate all comments good or bad !!
MD

[Mike Connor]

Should I have made a few wraps thru the hackle to lock it in?
MD

How you actually do it depends a lot on the particular style you are aiming for. It is better to lock the hackle stalk down, but there are various ways of doing this. When using the "collar" style where all the hackle fibres basically radiate from the same cross section of the hook, it is difficult to lock it down, you will only usually manage to get one locking turn through, unless you go back and forth. This is why the abutment of the hackle to previous thread turns is quite important in this case, because it "buries" the hackle stalk somewhat and lessens the chance of it being unraveled. Many old time dressers actually overwound the hackle stem and fibre butts completely.

Getting these things to look as you want them is a matter of first knowing what you want, then getting to know the materials, and then some practice. Try to dress at least half a dozen at a sitting, ( although even just doing three is better than just dressing one), and prepare your materials beforehand. In a surprisingly short time you will get the appearance and consistency you are looking for. In order to achieve certain things specific techniques or methods are required, so have a look at as many as you can before you decide what you want to use. Trying to achieve certain results without knowing the right way to do it can drive you nuts!

The camera can be an excellent diagnostic tool, and of course essential for displaying your work, it will show even very minor things, but the only way to perfect various things is to practice them with full knowledge of what you are trying to achieve.

TL
MC

[MuddlerDaddy]

Thanks again Mike,
Very sound advice ! I'm looking forward to tying a lot more soft hackles and spiders this winter!!

Best Regards,
MD

[Mike Connor]

My pleasure, always glad to help if I can. I will add some information here which may be of use to you.

TL
MC