dc410
Well-known member
I have been researching some of Jack Gartside's original patterns over the past few weeks and came across the Soft Hackle Streamer. Everything that I have read about this pattern lends it to having a great profile and really good movement to imitate almost any kind of baitfish. The color combinations of flash and marabou are endless leaving much to the imagination of the tyer. The original soft hackle streamer pattern only calls for two materials: a few strands of flash (krystalflash or flashabou type of material) and marabou feathers in your choice of color. One of the most important things to do is to use the upper end of the marabou feather where the stem is very thin. The marabou feather is then tied in by the butt end and wrapped soft hackle style around the hook, stroking the fibers back on each turn to try to avoid trapping the fibers under the stem. This is a very simple tie!. I tied these on standard heavy wire wet fly hooks (size 6). The idea behind the shorter hook is to allow the materials to provide the maximum movement imitating the natural baitfish. I am planning on using this pattern primarily as a smallmouth pattern, thinking that short strikes could be an issue with trout on the shorter hooks.
Here are a few photos of some of the variations of the Soft Hackle Streamer.
(1) Three original Gartside Soft Hackle Streamers (Red/White, Yellow/White and Chartruese/White)
(2) Brown/Olive with a Wood Duck collar
(3) A pheasant Soft Hackle Streamer using pheasant marabou, blue/green pheasant back feather and a few turns of a long fibered pheasant aftershaft feather for a collar. I really like the way this one turned out. Can't wait to give it a try out for smallies this Spring!
Here are a few photos of some of the variations of the Soft Hackle Streamer.
(1) Three original Gartside Soft Hackle Streamers (Red/White, Yellow/White and Chartruese/White)
(2) Brown/Olive with a Wood Duck collar
(3) A pheasant Soft Hackle Streamer using pheasant marabou, blue/green pheasant back feather and a few turns of a long fibered pheasant aftershaft feather for a collar. I really like the way this one turned out. Can't wait to give it a try out for smallies this Spring!