I never really fished soft hackles until a few years ago.It was always dry,nymphs,streamers and emergers.Now, Im a believer.In the spring and early summer Ive caught more trout on soft hackles then any other flies.Could anyone share some of the patterns with which they have had success?I fish mostly Maryland and south PA.

I'm new to soft hackles as well. I've been tying PT and HE nymphs all winter so it was a natrual progression to just put a collar on it. So far I've only fished the PT with some good luck.

I started with the soft hackles last year and have done very well. I don't tie them smaller than 18. Everything I've read says they don't need to be tied teeny tiny. I tie them in various colors, orange, green, brown and black. I wrap small wire over them and hackle, very simple. They catch fish and I use them as an effective second fly in a 2 fly set-up.

like mentioned above, just tie some simple ones in various colors, I like orange, olive, brown , black and cream. keep your hackle to a single turn. I usually just tie two sizes, maybe 16 and 12, but I'd have to check on that.
funny how one of the oldest ways to fly fish is becoming popular again!

try some partridge and peacocks too (peacock body and a turn or 2 of partridge)...they work well during caddis hatches and mix match body colors to match caddis pupa...

I fished soft hackle wets for a looonnnngggggg time. That's what I learned to tie early on from my Dad. I've done well with them but have made the transition, over the last 10+ years to nearly all nymphs. I've caught far more fish nymphing than I ever did on the soft hackle wets. I still do tie and fish a couple of soft hackle patterns, gold ribbed hare's ear and lead wing coachman, but I fish them as I would a nymph and generally in tandem with a standard nymph. Both these patterns seem to me to be caddis emerger types with the gold ribbed hare's ear bearing no resemblance at all the the various hare's ear patterns seen seen here on PFF. Strikes on these typically occur at the end of the drift when the fly is coming off the bottom.

Other soft hackle patterns I tied in the past include: Quill Gordon, Hendrickson, Grey hackle Peacock, Grey Hackle Red, Grey hackle Yellow, March Brown, etc. These flies look to me to have provided the heritage for emerger patterns fished either in the film or just under the surface.

Here is some info you guy might find interesting. Hope you enjoy it. Bill

http://www.jackgartside.com/step_soft_hackle_flies.htm

Thanks for the link.

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Thanks for that! Gonna spend this windy day tying a few...

Two main kinds of soft hackles form me: one with a spun fur body and the other with a wire, thread, or tubing body. hackle is hen back, starling, or quaill depending on size or color. I do them all in the same color schemes: tan, ginger, brown, rust, green, olive, black, peacock, and grey. Cool thing about soft hackles you can fish them for any situation between surface film and bottom. Tie some thin ones to grease in teh surface. Tie others with beads to nymph with.

I like to tie and fish soft hackle patterns you don't see to often. I use Pearsall's gossamer silk tied quite short, and the old school mallard wing quill section wets too. There is a method of winging wets called the Glanrhos style, where the hackle is wound as usual but do not cut off the hackle tip, it is used as the wing. It has worked well for me but no one kind is the do all as you all know. The fly was first tied in this manner by Mr. L.J.Graham Clarke, Who owned the Glanrhos water on the Wye, a salmon river in Wales. Some of the patterns I fish regularly were tied in the mid 1700's and still catchin fish.

Wow Atticus, I'm a I'm a soft hackle fanatic! Check out anything (book or DVD) by Sylvester Nemes, the granddaddy of the soft hackle.
Coughlin

Also do not over look a more traditional winged wet fly during a hatch. Soft hackles work very well but sometime a winged wet does even better like with BWO.

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I learned about soft hackles from Sylvester Nemes' book, The Soft-Hackled Fly. These patterns are awesome stream trout catchers. You can lure warm water fish, too, like smallies, rock bass, bluegill, even black crappie.

I like the partridge family of patterns for sure. I also tie a few oddities like Pheasant and Orange Floss, Pheasant and Olive Floss, Deer Hair and Gray Wool.

All of these in sizes 12 through 16 work wonders.

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