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SUPER SOFT HACKLES

© Louis Bignami

To add fly movement "pulse" the fly on the swing by shaking the rod up and down or side to side. Move the tip of the rod only a couple of inches to put waves into the fly line that will be pulled back out by the current. What you want is the soft hackles to open and close without the fly moving more than an inch or so.

This motion is often overdone, and you can prevent the trout from catching the fly by erratic quick pulls. The best way to figure out how little is enough, is to give your rod to a friend standing upstream. As your friend shakes the rod tip up and down, watch how much the fly pulses ahead in the water for varied rod movements and frequencies. Compare the fly movement to the size of the wave in the fly line. This needs to be a subtle movement.

You are after subtle, rhythmic, swimming pulses.

When your fly has reached the end of the swing let it pause/pulse it a few times, then retrieve it slowly towards you for a few feet before casting again. Variations of this technique can include adding weight to the line a couple of feet above the fly to get it on the bottom to mimic a drifting caddis pupa. When the line goes tight the soft hackle will rise to the surface a la "Liesenring lift." This can be very effective!

The soft hackles are also very well suited as droppers behind a dry fly. Tie a piece of tippet, 8 inches to 20 inches long, to the curve of the dry fly hook and attach a soft hackle. I will generally fish this rig up and across in typical dry fly manner and work my way up stream rather than down.

These are only a couple of the ways you can fish this effective fly. I've had good luck trolling one from a canoe on lakes as I paddle along too. THE SOFT-HACKLED FLY by Sylvester Nemes offers a whole book of other methods and directions on ties for this easy to tie fly.

Finally, a buddy has a June special on assorted orange and green soft hackles in sizes 12, 14, and 16 for $9.95 with no shipping costs and a "no questions" money-back guarantee. Check www.fineflies.com.