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Isonychia Soft Hackle (Tutorial / SBS)

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:44 pm
by letumgo
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Isonychia Soft Hackle
Hook - Mustad R50/Size 12
Thread - Pearsall's Gossamer Silk (Red)
Hackle - Hen Neck (Claret)
Back Marking (optional) - Heavy White Sewing thread (3/0) or a single strand of pearl Flashabou
Body - Five or six strands of Peacock Herl (bronze herl looks really nice if you've got it)
Tail - Hen Neck Fibers (Claret)

DETAILED TYING INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Mount the hook in the vise.
2) Wax a few inches of the silk tying thread.
3) Mount the tying thread at the eye of the hook and make five wraps (clip off the tag end).
4) Prepare a hen neck feather by stripping the fibers off the feather until you get to the barbs with the hackle length your looking for.
5) Tye in the feather by the stem, with the tip facing out over the eye of the hook. I make four wraps of silk towards the eye of the hook and then eight or nine wraps back towards the bend of the hook (this helps form a slight taper to the body/slightly thicker at the front). Clip off the excess stem of the feather.
6) Tye in a 3" piece of white sewing thread (leave end hanging out over the eye of the hook).
7) Select five or six nice peacock herls, even the ends and tye them in by the tips. The peacock herl should be tyed in with the base of the stems facing out over the eye of the hook (similar to the way the hackle feather is tyed in).
8) Wind the tying thread back towards the bend of the hook. Stop about four or five wraps short of the bend.
9) Tye in the tail fibers (roughly the length of the hook).
10) Wind the peacock herl back to the bend of the hook and secure with a single wrap of thread. It is important to wind the herl in the same direction as you wind your tying thread. I wind the herl and thread clockwise (away from me over the top of the hook). Since the herl and thread are being wrapped in counter-directions, they will naturally cross each other, allowing the thread to reinforce the herl.
11) Pull the piece of white tying thread tightly along the top of the body, then wrap the tying thread in open spirals toward the eye of the hook. Keep tension on the white thread so that a nice neat line is formed along the back of the fly. Trim off the excess white thread.
12) Stop the tyeing thread roughly 1/3rd of the way from the eye of the hook. (this step assumes you want to tye a flymph style hackle over the front third of the body. If you want the hackle all at the front of the body, wind the thread to the front of the hook before the next step).
13) Grasp the hen hackle in a pair of rotary hackle pliers and make two of three open wraps back to the tying thread.
14) Wrap the tying thread forwards to the eye of the hook. Wiggle the tying thread back and forth a little as you wind, so that the hackle fibers are not trapped by the thread. The tying thread will cross the hackle stem at a number of locations, reinforcing the fly. Clip off the excess tip of the hen feather.
15) Whip finish a small head and trim off the tying silk.
16) Add a small drop of head cement to the knot to finish the fly.

You may notice that this fly is almost tyed backwards (most materials wrapped towards the bend of the hook). It seems strange at first, but it is actually very efficient way of tying the fly. It creates a nice slender body with a minimum number of wraps.

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:51 pm
by letumgo
I owe a big "Thank You" to VERN-O for this fly. He custom dyed the claret hen neck, used to make these flies. (Mark - I heard that you provided Vern some guidance with the dying process). The fly is actually a knock off of VERN-O great Isonychia nymph pattern. I was looking for an excuse to use the hen neck and this was a natural choice.

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 4:16 pm
by scotfly
Nice fly, and I love that claret! 8-)

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:13 pm
by narcodog
That's what I have been looking for, very nice.

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 6:50 am
by VERN-O
looking good....very nice!!! Good to see your rendition :D

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 8:45 am
by Hans Weilenmann
Ray,

The flies look great, but I am left with the question whether the white thread will be very visible buried in the peacock herl body. It may be the angle they were photographed, but I do not detect any white in images?

Just wondering :roll:

Thanks,
Hans W

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle

Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:13 am
by letumgo
The flies shown in the photos do not have the white tying thread. That is why I listed it as "optional" in the tying materials. I chose to leave it off these flies.

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle (Tutorial / SBS)

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 3:56 am
by willowhead
Stumbled onto another BEAUT! Wow.......i mean WOW! Way to go Ray......little fly kicks butt. You got the touch......... ;)

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle (Tutorial / SBS)

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:25 am
by hankaye
Ray, Howdy;

Christmas Flys !!!!! :D

Great Lookin' flys Ray.
The claret and green hurl compliment each other nicely.

hank

Re: Isonychia Soft Hackle (Tutorial / SBS)

Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:28 am
by DUBBN
I need to start browsing the archives...theres some good stuff in there.
Great pattern Ray!