Soft Hackle Wet Fly Hints . . .

The design of traditional wet flies has been around since the first fly tied, it's hard to change something that has work so well for many of years. Well I would like to give some thoughts of wer fly pattern and how tradition will never be lost but will just be added to. Some of the most productive patterns know to us are wet flies, yet we have gone so far from them to exact replication and heavily weighted nymphs. Some of older patterns like the Lough Arrow and Gosling are the predisores to the modern Knudson Spider and all are great patterns on trout, their light mallard hackle with a under hackle the contrast, creates a very savy treat for our friend the trout.

I used these three examples because of this factor I am going to talk about right now. I believe that the first thing when tying a wet fly is to first select a body that will aggetate a fish, it should be one of those border line colors; purple, chuerstuse, cerise, king fisher blue, etc.. Once the body is set then a color with a slight change of hue should be used as a under hackle, (e.g. purple body, blue hackle - cerise body, orange hackle) the point to this will soon be relvieled. Next select a over hackle that is drab in color; a olive, black, brown, dark orange, dark blue, white, natural mallard or guniea. The over hackle need to extend past all the other materials when swept back, if using a tail use the same material of the over hackle.

With a swung wet fly the hackle is pulled over the rest of the body, and with suddell movement in the current the hackle gives life to the pattern. That is my point, the pattern works in suck a way that when a trout approaches the fly, he see the natural color of the over hackle and with the movement of the hackle the under hackle color is exposed and the pattern just doubled the intrugue of the trout. Then it happens just a little bit of the body is exposed and boom the fish strikes out of instict. The quick change of the patterns color gives the more life to pattern then any leg or wing could ever do. The same theroy works with Alantic Salmon fly patterns, all the colors seem grey at first to the fish, as it moves closer it become more and more excited, then a flash of the tip or the tail or some other color strikes out at them and the nail it. Who know if it's truth, I just know the few wet flies I tie catch fish, they are not made from synthetic or have lead wire wrap on them, all feather. Even the body I make from hackle, in the next paragraph I will explain the process. So I have taken the traditional pattern and put a theroy of color on them and the have worked, this keeps tradition alive and save alot of money in misc. materials.

The Spider patterns have a great influence on tyers and fly-fishermen, the Knudson Spider, Black Spide, Carey Special and any other soft hackle no wing patterns are quick to tie and are deadly to fish. The spider can repesent so many different thing in the water, depending on it size and color. small spiders can imatate Mayfly, Caddis, Stonefly and and all sorts of Diptera larva. The action of a spider is more then most imitations meerly by the fact that the fly has no top or bottom. There are many different ways to tie a spider, first I will discuss how I tie them and next, well there is no next just my way : ) once you try you will not go back . . .

First off most of my spider pattern contian four elements; tail, body, hackle and the over hackle. I see more and more lazy K. Spider latel, now I don't know if it was originally tied with a grizzly under hackle but one that use it produce fish greatly. K spider tied with other under hackle in oranges and browns also produce. For tailing I keep it the same as the over hackle, mostly mallard, partridge or pheasant rump. As for the body I take a hen feather of the color I will be using and tie it tip first, I then spin the feather in my finger tips until it's on round piece with all the barbs laying towards my fingers. I then wrap forward, this leaves the body looking very realistic, it will look some what like a Teeny nymph. Then hen mostly for under hackle then I over hackle the sucker making sure the hackle reaches over the entire body. Whip finish and on to the next, quick, easy and deadly. For larger pattern schapplen might be used or the chennille of choice.