There are few better feelings for an angler than hooking a fish with a homemade lure. The soft hackle fly is one of the oldest and most varied patterns; tie your own orange and pheasant breast fly in minutes with these simple steps.
Tools:
Fly tying vise
Bobbin
Hackle Pliers
Half Hitch Tool
Scissors
Head Cement
Materials:
Size 12 dry fly hook
Orange thread
Pheasant breast feather
Step 1: Attach the thread to the hook right behind the eye. Build up a thread body by wrapping the thread to the bend of the hook and back to the front, ending just before the eye.
Step 2: Prep the selected feather by removing the lower fibers and pulling the back the remaining feather barbs (also known as "Christmas Treeing").
Step 3: Wrap thread around feather with the stripped end pointing towards the tail end of the hook, carefully snip off excess fibers at the hook eye.
Step 4: Grasp the end of the feather with a pair of hackle pliers and carefully wrap the feather around the front of the hook 2 to 3 times.
Step 5: Carefully wrap the thread around the front end of the feather to secure and snip off the stripped feather end.
Step 6: Wrap the thread around the head of the fly and finish with 2 to 3 half-hitch knots and 1 to 2 drops of head cement.
With nearly limitless thread and feather combinations, the simplicity of this fly has proven its success for generations. The soft hackle can be fished as a dry fly, riding on the surface of the water, or as a wet fly, swimming just below the surface. It imitates a number of water-born insects that comprise most fish diets.
For more ideas, check out our Iowa Fishing or DIY Outdoors boards on Pinterest.
