JAB's Reversed Soft Hackle - Breaking Tradition

"Reversed soft hackle?  Ah, come on, that's a tenkara fly..." you say.   

The inspiration for reversing the hackle was derived from renowned Pacific Northwest angler Mike Kinney's killer searun cutthrout fly the Reversed Spider.  For over 40-years, the Reversed Spider has taken numerous anadromous species along the west coast in both fresh and saltwater- long before the popularity of tenkara in the United States.  

I can assure you this style of fly moves in the water like nothing you've ever seen!  When the fly is twitched or drawn tight to the current, the hackle flows back over the body and wants to naturally return forward of the eye in the resting position.  This pulsating action perfectly mimics an emerging or crippled insect; which, possibly explains the phenomenal success of this style of tying.  If you incorporate different retrieves, twitching or lifting techniques in the swing I can guarantee fish!

Materials

Hook:  TMC 2499SPBL or Daiichi 1150, sizes 10-16

Thread:  8/0 Uni-thread, brown

Hackle:  Mottled hen

Rib:  Lagartun, gold, small oval

Body:  Ice Dubbing, olive brown

Step 1:

Secure hook in vise.  Start thread immediately behind the eye and take a few wraps.

Step 2:

Secure hen feather with the butt end forward of the eye and concave side down as shown.

Step 2a:

Lift feather straight up.  Stroke fibers forward over the eye.  I find that moistening my fingers with water makes the task much easier.

Step 2b:

Take 1 to 3 wraps of hackle to the rear in close touching intervals.   This is how "reverse hackling" gets its name.

Step 3:

Tie in ribbing and advance thread to the rear of the hook to position shown.

Step 4:

Apply dubbing to thread and wrap forward forming a tapered body. Leave a small amount of room behind hackle to secure ribbing/thread.

Step 5:

Wrap ribbing forward in even segments and secure.  Don't worry about this step looking pretty. We'll cover with a whip finish of dubbing!

Step 6:

Apply a very small amount of dubbing to thread and slide dubbing up to body.  With dubbing on the thread, whip finish.  This will hide the thread!  No need to worry about neatness here either... Let's pick the dubbing out!

Can you visualize an emerging or crippled caddis in the surface film?  

Enjoy!