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Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 9:54 am
by narcodog
I think I would use 6B silk and gray partridge.

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 10:00 am
by letumgo
John,

I'm not sure I would change anything about the fly (beautiful), but if you are looking for options, you may want to try a version with waterhen covert feather for hackle. I believe waterhen would be a little darker gray, when compared with the mallard feather.

I like your choices for the body construction. Choosing the silk color (underbody) and controlling the overall color with the dubbing, works very well. As I look back and forth between the real insect, and your fly pattern, you have done a nice job matching coloration.

Have you dipped the fly in water yet? It is always worth checking fly color after the fly is wet, since that is going to be the closest to the appearance when fishing the fly. Materials generally shift (darken) several shades darker once they are wet.

I love this sort of tying mimicry. Your insect photos create a strong foundation, for imitative tying.

Good stuff!

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 11:41 am
by upstatetrout
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I tried one as Bob suggested. Pearsalls 6B touch dubbed with light mole for the body and light Partridge Hackle.

As John alludes it's what the trout says that counts. Trout can't count and they ain't got no money but they sure can be picky at times.

Tom

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 4:36 pm
by PhilA
John,
I don't know those northern freestone rivers like you, but on the rare occasions I encounter Hendricksons in the spring creeks of SW WI, this is my current choice for trout feeding under the surface. It's similar to your fly, but with woodcock hackle.

Image

This is one of Thomas Pritt's several March Brown patterns (his fly No.13):
Hook: #12-#13
Thread: Orange silk (Gossamer #19 here, which will be deep rich ginger when wet)
Body: Orange silk, dubbed over with a little fur from a (red) fox's ear
Hackle: A reddish feather from the outside of (an English) woodcock's wing

Cheers,
Phil

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2019 7:06 pm
by fly_fischa
Really interesting thread and beautifully tied flies.
I think the colour of the body is pretty spot on and like the hackle.
My question would be are U intending to fish these as duns and how do you intend to fish them?
Might seem like a stupid question but I'd be interested to hear how others would approach this from a fishing perspective.
If I were to construct this fly to imitate duns I would have tails and some seals fur in the dubbing blend, a slightly more pronounced and scruffy thorax and possibly a turn or two of undersized dry fly hackle hidden behind the soft hackle. The seals fur sheds water easily when false cast and helps keep the fly in the film/riding higher. The dry fly hackle if used would support the soft hackle material and also aid keeping it riding higher for longer and the tails would all help keep the fly in the correct orientation.
Beautiful fly by the way...

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:52 am
by redietz
A waterhen bloa works really well for me during a Hendrickson hatch. If there are duns on the water, I'll fish it with a Hendrickson dry. Doubles are common. If the duns haven't appeared yet on a given day, I'll team it with a Dark Hendrickson wet.

During the spinner fall, a Partridge and Orange beneath a Red Quill dry is hard to beat.

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 3:28 pm
by upstatetrout
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This is the Hendrickson soft Hackle I have used for the last couple of years. I am very happy with it.

Tom

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 5:33 pm
by fly_fischa
Thanks for the additional photo, footage and info John, very cool...
I think how you are intending to fish your flies will work well but I would also consider creating some that sit higher but are still soft hackles. You may fish emergers and haystacks when they're willing to look up. I have a at times caught more fish on adapted soft hackles that employ hackle fibre tails some seals fur dub and maybe a turn or two of undersized cock hackle. These flies have worked extremely well for me on some very tough fish, they usually sit in or just under the surface. I sometimes like to cast well ahead of a fish give the fly a short sharp strip to sink it and trap airbubbles and hopefully the rest goes to plan, and it often does...
I'm not a Flymph/softhackle/wet fly purist btw, my fav way to fish is with emergers and dries, I have on aoccasion thought about becoming a purist, maybe some day...

Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 6:01 pm
by William Anderson
John, your Hendrickson soft-hackles are gorgeous. I really like the dubbing silk combo. I have always loved tying flies that match Hendricksons and it's one of my favorite hatches. I've only caught the hatch on Central Pa streams and haven't seen the flies emerge in the Catskills when I was there. From all accounts the flies are very similar to what you are showing as your local Hendricksons. In my experience there are lots of soft-hackle flies and patterns in different shades that work. Seems like when the fish are hitting, they are generous and if they aren't fussing with the pattern hasn't solved it for me. That being said, I always carry a row of #14 soft hackles like the one below with a twisted body of pheasant tail and 6a silk. The effect is really more a match to the nymphs, especially with this marked hackle. I like this fly for lots of situations to be honest.
MB Brahma and PT Dekron 1550 Best 02 180.jpg
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Re: Hendrickson soft hackle

Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2019 10:41 pm
by redietz
ForumGhillie wrote: Tue Jan 08, 2019 7:26 pm It is interesting that the three of you Eastern FF'ers all prefer soft hackle patterns that don't seem to resemble the real bugs. Makes me wonder if Eastern fly fishermen are all color blind. I don't see gray/yellow in Hendrickson female duns and definitely not in the male duns. If you guys say they work I have to believe they work. Maybe the trout out East are all color blind. :lol:

When the hatch is dwindling I have often thought a winged wet fly might work well to imitate trout selectively taking stillborn duns. I would tie it with a dark gray dun colored wing, not a woodduck wing.
If yo look at the newly emerged females, you'll see that they're more olive than pink, which is well represented by a waterhen bloa (the waxed silk turns that color, the touch dubbing just darkens it.) The hackle is a good match for the wing.

Take a look at the pictures on the troutnut page: http://www.troutnut.com/specimen/495.

And of course, color is the least important factor to match anyway. A Dark Hendrickson wet has worked well during Hendrickson hatches for over a hundred years now.

I agree with you about the males, though. Red quills are, well, red.

The spinners are a different matter.