50 Shades Of Hare's Ear: The Last 25

50 Shades of Hare's Ear

The First 25

Clicking on number will take you to the full page with recipe

#26

#27

#28

#29

#30

#31 

#32

#33

#34

#35

#36

#37

#38

#39

#40

#41

#42

#43

#44

#45

#46

#47

#48

#49

#50

50 Shades Of Hare's Ear: #49

#48    Hare's Ear Soft Hackle

Notes:

(1)   The body composition of this fly is exactly the same as the Hare's Ear/Snowshoe Rabbit Emerger.   However, this time I've replaced the Mirage Krystal Flash with a wider pearl mylar tinsel.
(2)  I would recommend trying various colors of Krystal Flash and hare's ear combinations.  Although it is hard to beat natural hare's ear with either pearl Krystal or the Mirage (Opal) Olive hare's ear, olive. black and insect green cover most species of caddis
(3)   To achieve the proper "flash" and proportions first wax the thread.   Second, start applying very minute amounts of dubbing approximately 1.5-inches down the thread from the hook in a taper.  After the dubbing has been applied bring the thread back to the shank and form a dubbing loop.  Bring tinsel and wire together with the dubbing and twist tightly.   This will give you a tight segmented effect and allow the tinsel and wire to show through the hare's ear.  The first 2 or 3 wraps should be strictly the tinsel and wire before the hare's ear commences up the shank.
(4)  The thorax/collar is underfur from a gray fox and hare's ear mixed together.  Pick out well and stroke to the rear.
(5)  Fish down and across..   Strikes are quick and short! 

Materials

Hook:   Daiichi 1150, sizes 10-16 (Size 12 pictured)

Thread:  6/0 or 8/0.  Tan UTC 70 pictured.  

Body:  Hare's ear.  Color of choice.  Raked directly from the ear.  Twisted with gold wire and Veevus pearl tinsel (medium).
Shoulder:  Hare's ear, natural, mixed with gray fox underfur.  (Numerous substitutes are available.)
Hackle:  Partridge or grouse.

50 Shades Of Hare's Ear: #40

#40   Soft Hackle, Stinger

Notes:

(1)  Motivation for this style of fly comes from one of my many trips to Japan.  It combines a wee bit of Tenkara and ancient Japanese flies tied with eel skin, silk and a glass bead.

(2)  I have swapped the silk for UTC 70 thread; which, if wound flat will give the body a "silk-like" body.
(3)  A bead is placed on the hook and allowed to rest at the bend.  Thread is wound flat from the eye to the desire area.  A small hump of thread is built at the rear.  The bead should be slide onto the hump with some effort.  Slide the bead back down the hook and apply a drop of super glue to the hump.   Place bead onto the hump and allow to dry.

(4)  The fly is finished utilizing traditional procedures/steps.
(5)  Traditional soft hackle methods are fished with this pattern.

Materials:

Hook:  Firehole Sticks, Firehole 316, size 10-18  (Size 10 pictured)
Bead:  11/0 Tohu glass.   (Transparent chartreuse pictured)

Thread:  UTC 70 color to match body (Woodduck pictured).  Bright colored threads/silks are common.

Ribbing:  Gold Lagartun, small oval or small gold wire doubled and twisted  Wound over hare's ear only.

Rear Body:  Hare's ear taken directly from the ears.  Mixed with a minute amount of Sybai Fine Flash, UV.   Rear body is approximately 1/4 of total body length.
Body:  UTC 70, Woodduck.   Body should be as flat and thin as possible.

Hackle:  Mottled hen, light brown

I've opened the mottled hen legs in order to view the body.

50 Shades Of Hare's Ear: #38 (Holy Grail Revisited)

#38   The Holy Grail

Notes:

(1)  I decided to reintroduce you to the Holy Grail

(2)  Game changer!  The Holy Grail combines the elements of hare's ear, partridge (soft hackle style), a tungsten (or brass) bead (even a glass bead can be used) and pearl Flashou.  This is a winning combination! Let's add one more fish-catching attribute- ultra violet.  I've mixed a small amount of Ice Dubbing in pearl blue to this caddis emerging pattern.  Hang on!

(3)  Upstream nymphing, Czech nymphing or swinging.  It doesn't matter your style of fishing.  The fish will come!  I find most of my strikes come from downstream about the three quarter mark of the drift or swing.

(4)  Black, brown, cinnamon, burnt orange and various shades of caddis green are all great colors to switch to- depending your local species.

Materials:

Hook:  Fulling Mill Czech Nymph, Sizes 10 to 16 (Size 12 pictured).  Or 2XL nymph hook.

Bead:  Size appropriate gold tungsten or brass.  You may also consider tying with a glass bead.

Thread:  UTC 70 color to match (UTC 70 brown pictured)

Ribbing:  Flashabou, pearl (Flashabou Mirage as well as the new perdigone tinsels are good change ups!)

Body/Thorax:  Hare's ear.  Color to match local species.  I've added pearl blue Ice Dubbing (UV)

Wingcase:  Pheasant tail or Ozark turkey, natural or color to match.

Hackle/Collar:  Partridge, gray or brown

I've opened the hackle up in order to view the body, thorax and wingcase.

Partridge and Yellow (Variant)

Did you notice I included the word "variant" in the subject line?  What the heck is a variant? Simply put, a variant is nothing more than deviating from the original pattern with recipe intent in mind utilizing different material(s) and sometimes tying techniques.  But here's where this pattern gets a little tricky.

The Partridge and Yellow, or Yellow Partridge, as we see it tied today, has a thorax of hare's ear in the recipe. However, delving in the history of the pattern (T.E. Pritt's North country Flies, 1886) (Slyvester Nemes' The Soft-hackled Fly Addict, 1973), discloses the Partridge and Yellow's tying instructions as “Wings: hackled with a light feather from the back of a Partridge. Notice there is no indication of hare's ear? Further research suggests when a thorax of hare's ear is present (Michael Theakston's List of Natural Flies, 1853), the pattern is the Brown Spiral Drake. Theakston pens his pattern recipe: "orange or yellow silk; hackled, for wings and legs, with a freckled-brown feather from the back or shoulder of a partridge; with a few fibres of hare's ear wrought in at the breast."  Both aforementioned patterns could easily be construed as a Partridge and Orange or Partridge and Yellow with today's tiers. Confused yet? How did we get to this point today?  I wish I had an answer.  For sanity' s sake, we'll leave it as the Partridge and Yellow.

The most notable variations on this pattern are the silver tinsel, brown partridge vice gray and the utilization of thread vice floss (silk) for the body.   Why so many changes?  Even though it often pains me to see historical fly recipes to go by the wayside, I also understand the need to broaden horizons.  However, these changes illustrate different tying techniques, yet the fly retains the classic look.   First, the silver tinsel gives the yellow thread a brilliancy unmatched when wet. This "bright spot," coupled with the tag, may very well imitate a gas bubble of an emerging insect. Materials such as silver Flashabou or mylar tinsel is frequently substituted, but the effect is nothing comparable to Lagartun varished tinsel.  Next, I feel the brown partridge adds a little more contrast to the body color as well as complimenting natural insect coloring.  Finally,  UTC 70 denier is very floss-like in both appearance and tying attributes.  This not only speeds up the tying process, but this thread lays thinner and tighter to the body than floss.

Materials

Hook:  Daiichi 1560 or any standard nymph hook, size 12-16

Thread:  UTC 70, yellow

Tag:  Lagartun, flat, fine silver  (silver Flashabou or mylar tinsel may be substituted)

Body:  Lagartun tinsel (silver Flashabou or mylar tinsel) under a base of UTC 70 thread

Thorax:  Hare's ear, natural

Hackle: Partridge, brown or gray

Step 1:

Pinch barb with vise.  Secure hook.  Start thread immediately behind the eye and take a few wraps.

Step 2:

Prepare a 6-inch length of tinsel by cutting a bevel appearance as pictured.

Step 2A:

Secure tinsel (bevel side facing rearward) with 3 or 4 turns of thread close to the point. Do not remove tag end at this point.  It will be be removed later.  The beveled edge aids in setting the correct angle during the wrapping process.

  

Step 3:

Wrap tinsel rearward with one wrap just aft of the hook and then return to the tie in area.  Each wrap should be touching the previous wrap, but not overlapping.   This will give a smooth, professional look as well as facilitate a smooth over body of thread or floss.

When you reach the area just aft of the tie in point, hold tinsel firmly and then unwind thread wraps. Take an additional turn of tinsel (or two) and secure with flat thread wraps rearward.  Remove waste ends.  Utilizing this method alleviates bulk of thread and tinsel.

Step 4:

With flattened thread make even wraps rearward to the hook point and return to the thorax area. Ideally, the body will be just thick enough to barely make out the silver tinsel underneath.

Step 5:

Dub a small ball of hare's ear.

Step 6:

Prepare a brown or gray partridge feather by removing the fluff from the bottom portion of the stem. If you desire less hackle simply remove the far side laying fibers.  The hackle can be wound as thin or thick as desired however, I prefer thicker due to the faster flowing waters I fish.  If needed, I can discreetly remove fibers as needed streamside.

Step 6A:

Fold or double hackle rearward and take one or two wraps and secure.

Step 6B:

While keeping tension on bobbin complete a three or four turn whip finish.  Apply a coat or two of head cement.  Finished!

UTC 70 denier comes in several useful colors for this pattern- including fluorescent.  I would also add that flies tied solely of tinsel (gold or silver) and hare's ear take a fair share of fish, too.

Enjoy!

February Red Soft Hackle

I had to do a little research for the February Red knowing there are a few different versions of this soft hackle pattern (like so many other patterns). Some are tied on short shank hooks, others to 2XL hooks.  Partridge and grouse are common hackles yet others are tied with a thorax and even a few variations tied with fur spun on red silk. There are also a few different techniques of tying, too.   The closest I came to finding the exact pattern recipe compared to what we tie today came from The Soft-Hackled Fly and Tiny Soft Hackles (Nemes 1975).  The body consisted of  mahogany silk and brown partridge hackle.

For the beginning tier, one of the main reasons for this blog, let's go the simple route.   Please note that tradition(al) (soft hackle) calls for silk as tying thread however, I have been using Veevus thread for much of my tying these days.  It is strong, tough and gives a close facsimile of silk for the body.  

We can look at different tying techniques and materials for traditional soft hackles down the road.  In the interim, let's get you started...

Materials

Hook:  Daiichi 1530 or 1560, sizes 12-16

Thread:  Pearsall's Gossamer silk (red) or Veevus 8/0 (red)

Hackle:  Partridege, brown

Step 1:

Pinch barb with hook vise and secure.  Form a body with thread or silk by starting just behind the eye and advancing thread/silk to a position between the hook point and barb then returning to the area pictured.

Step 2:

Prepare a partridge by stripping all the fluff from the bottom of the feather.  Tie is feather by the tip or forward part of the feather.  Fibers should be, at a minimum, as long as hook bend.  Fold tip back over thread and make one or two tight securing wraps and cut away tip. This will lock the feather in place.

Step 3:

Lift stem straight up and draw fibers rearward.  Make one wrap (or two if a thicker hackle is desired) and secure.  Finish with a 3 or 4 turn whip finish.  Apply a coat or two of head cement.  If you are utilizing silk do not apply head cement.

I've opened the hackle to show the body.

Again, this instruction is not traditional.  I will cover it at a later time.

Enjoy!

Copper and Squirrel - A Winged Soft Hackle

Some of my contemporaries have asked about the spey-ish look and style of the Copper and Squirrel. Admittedly, this fly was not designed with this in mind. Rather I was seeking a real solid emerger pattern utilizing one feather for a wing and hackle   However, I may be on to something....  A micro-spey for trout?

The body is made entirely of copper wire and squirrel underfur with a few longer guard hairs left in the mix.  To achieve the "loose dubbing" effect, a very tacky wax is applied to the copper wire and the fur is pressed (not twisted) on to the wire then wrapped in the normal way.  

You'll find a lightly dressed fly with a lot of copper showing through fishes the best as body weight and dressing allows for a deeper presentation in the water column.  As the fly nears the end of the drift, tension from the current raises the fly towards the surface.  It is at this point you can expect quick, jerky strikes!

Materials

Hook:  Daiichi 1150, size 10-16

Thread:  10/0 or 8/0

Body:  Copper wire, fine.  The darker the better!  Fox squirrel with most of the guard hairs removed.

Wing/Hackle:  Brown partridge

Step 1:

Pinch barb with vise.  Secure hook.  Apply wax to the first two inches of copper wire.  Wind copper wire rearward stopping between the hook point and barb.

Step 1a:

Remove tag end by wiggling back and forth.

Step 2:

Apply a tacky wax to the copper wire and press dubbing on to it.  Wind forward.  The end result should look similar to picture below.

Step 3:

Start thread with a couple of wraps in front of the copper wire.  Take one or two turns of copper wire and then secure with tight thread wraps.

Step 3a:

Wiggle wire back and forth to remove.

Step 4:

Prepare partridge feather by removing fluff and one side of the fibers.  Measure hackle tip by placing the tip at the thread's tie in point (near hook eye) and visually note the distance to the hook bend. This area (further down the stem) will be the tie in point.  Tie in with the hackle tip extending over the eye utilizing two or three tight wraps.  Draw hackle tip back over the thread wraps and take a couple of securing wraps.  This will lock the feather in place.  The stem of the partridge feather should be centerline over the hook shank.  Note the length of the wing.

Step 4a:

Take one or two wraps of hackle and secure.  Whip finish and apply a coat or two of head cement.

Enjoy!