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Tips, Ties And Tactics
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 Soft Hackles: Swinging For The Fence
Posted by lunchbox on Thursday, March 23 @ 09:12:41 PST
Fishing soft hackles can be extremely effective during spring time here
in the west. Nearly all nymphs emerge and hatch with some wiggle on
their ascent to the surface. Soft hackles are a great way of imitating
emerging Blue Wing Olive (BWO) nymphs and midge pupa.
Fish aren’t eating your dry on top? Switch over to nymphs of course.
Not necessarily. Soft hackles are an often overlooked method of taking
fish. Caddis, Blue Winged Olive (BWO) mayflies, and midges are all active when the make
their ascent toward the surface. Soft hackles can produce violent
strikes at times. One great clue to swing a soft hackle is a dead give away
by the fish - the rise form. If you are seeing fish jumping out of the
water, backs and tails breaking the surface, or flashes under the
surface, soft hackles are a great bet.
First thing to remember when fishing soft hackles is to use one size
heavier tippet. When a fish grabs your fly, you will have no slack in
the line and the rod is pointing down so you will have no shock
absorption on the strike. This will lead to break offs.
Second, control the speed of your swing with mends. In most cases, if
you are standing at the edge of a river, a mend towards the middle of
the river will slow your fly down and a mend toward the bank will speed
the fly up. This allows you to precisely adjust the speed of your fly
as well as impart action into it. You can work a riffle for over a
minute or two by mending left and right and working the fly back and forth
through an area.
Remember to fish the faster water. Fish will not get as long a look at
your fly in the fast current so you will get less refusals.
If you are tying your own, use heavy wire hooks. Not only will they
break your tippet, I have seen fish hit so hard that they straighten a
light wire dry fly hook. Make sure to use materials that move and have
some flash on your fly as well. Partridge and grouse make great
hackles, but for bodies use some of the great synthetic materials available
out there such as lite brite, krystal flash, angel hair, and the many
varieties of flashy dubbing out there.
Add weight to your flies to get them deeper. Tie some of your favorite
soft hackle patterns with tungsten beads and fish them at a different
level.
Good luck and tight lines,
Lunchbox
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Re: Soft Hackles: Swinging For The Fence
by joey on Monday, March 27 @ 13:15:07 PST http://www.fliesandfinseast.com | | I have fished this method on the yakima river in washington and it was very effective. Good post- swinging soft hackles is a technique that is often overlooked. |
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Photos From The Road |
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