Soft Hackles

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Did the best I could to move this topic. This is a cut and paste from the Soft Hackle Discussion:

SherpaB
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type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« on: February 03, 2007, 04:06:38 PM »
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I was looking around for some type of tiny soft hackle feather...I want to tie some 18-20 softies for the BWO hatches...I looked at Blue Ribbon Flies website and they have a bunch of bird skins I am not familiar with..maybe someone here knows of something I could use to wrap the tiny ones...
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AaronJasper
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #1 on: February 03, 2007, 07:12:11 PM »
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you can use a regular hen saddle. Whiting makes really nice hen saddles. they arent too hard on the wallet either. i think they are fifteen bucks. you can also try starling. i purchased some lately it looks really good. i usually just use a hen saddle for tying any soft hackle that i make.
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2007, 12:22:29 PM »
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I'll second the recommendation on starling. Lots of very small hackles. Blue Ribbon Flies has them (and the Pearsall's silk thread to make your soft hackles official Wink).
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2007, 03:40:25 PM »
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i am GOING to use soft hackle this year. i really like the look of the starling. the irradescent feathers looks so awesome. i hope that they fish as well as they look.
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SherpaB
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2007, 07:09:35 PM »
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Sounds like a plan...my bro just got a Hungarian Partrige skin from Blue Ribbon, Awesome coloration and quality...I love going to their shop in West, they are really nice people, very helpfull and some wacky flies...BTW the best caddis emerger/dry imitation I ever used is their Iris Caddis. If the fish are on top its an awfully good fly. I tie them by the dozens and expect to tie more for friends and frustrated anglers I come across onstream...
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2007, 06:13:04 PM »
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cold spring anglers in carlisle has a nice olive baetis wet with starling.

http://www.coldspringanglers.com/onl..._baetis_lt.gif
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #6 on: March 17, 2007, 08:28:48 PM »
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Maybe you've already covered this, but the March 2007 issue of Fly Fisherman has an article entitled "The Unsung Starling," with 9 different patterns and recipes. It seems like an awesome, inexpensive material. A typical starling cape has lots of soft hackles in size 18-22.

The starling is not native to the U.S. 40 pairs of birds were released in Central Park in 1890.
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SloNDeep
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #7 on: March 17, 2007, 08:46:42 PM »
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Quote from: SherpaB on February 04, 2007, 07:09:35 PM
Sounds like a plan...my bro just got a Hungarian Partrige skin from Blue Ribbon, Awesome coloration and quality...I love going to their shop in West, they are really nice people, very helpfull and some wacky flies...BTW the best caddis emerger/dry imitation I ever used is their Iris Caddis. If the fish are on top its an awfully good fly. I tie them by the dozens and expect to tie more for friends and frustrated anglers I come across onstream...

Sherpa, I feel like I've been reintroduced to a long lost friend.

I had a few of the Iris caddis from a shop I was guiding at a few years back and really liked them. Well, they ran out, I ran out, i never tied any more, and havent had them in a while. I guess I forgot about them.

Umpqua always supplied them on a fine wire, odd size, black hook. Do you tie these on std dry fly hooks?

I remember one night in particular, fishing the corner pool on the Hous, when a few guys walked away saying "there's nothing goin on here" and I could see a bunch of fish sipping in the back/middle of the pool. It was a bit choppy with a few long wrinkle seams and the fish were just pickin off bugs in the wrinkles.

I took two very nice fish back to back with an Iris Caddis.

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SherpaB
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #8 on: March 20, 2007, 02:52:58 PM »
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I have some of the black hooks tiemco 102Y i think is the model. not necessary but they are a nice wide gap dryfly hook. I usually dont bother digging them out and tie on standard dry fly hooks...I have had killer days with this fly.
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #9 on: April 03, 2007, 08:48:57 AM »
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I broke out my only partridge and green on saturday and got a lot of action. It was a size 14. The trout particularly went after it when I was stripping the fly back in. Great action. Promptly lost the fly after a few fish, and was out of them. Too bad. But, I suggest giving them a shot. Actually got the fish moving around.
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #10 on: April 03, 2007, 09:40:53 AM »
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I was thinking about tying a couple in some off colors. My new love is Peacock Ice Dub. I never really liked tying herl, could never get the volume I liked and the second I tried tying in more then two, I'd get snapped all over. Couldn't find a way to spin it with my Nor-Vise, you need to learn how to tie a fly backwards with certain patterns. Going to do a bunch of PT soft hackles with the ice dub.

I've tied a few yellow w/brown rib & partridge soft hackles, next is orange (not silk, but i wish I had it!) partridge.

I also like doing hare's fur soft hackles with a bead behind the hackle.

I can't find undyed starling, saw a package of it once and should have picked it up.
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Re: type of feather for tiny soft hackles
« Reply #11 on: April 03, 2007, 09:45:52 AM »
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delarock.... i have been using the peacock ice dub for my cased caddis. it has been working great. ice dub also works reallly well when you blend it in the right color to match the dubbing that you are making the nymph with.
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Here's a pretty cool site for your soft hackle and flymph recipes fellas:

http://www.libstudio.com/FS&S/

Check out that coldspringsangler link too. That's a nice pattern. I bought a few when I was there (now TCO Carlisle). The glass bead in place of the dubbed thorax is an interesting twist.