Through the many years I have read, " The House and Lot Variant was a favorite fly of President Eisenhower when he visited the West and I have even read it was practically the only fly he ever used," and we all have our "go to fly."

Several years ago I took my son-in-law to my favorite all time waters of the Firehole in Yellowstone Park.  He had never fly fished, but catches on quickly and soon he was casting a very fine cast.  I put on a soft hackle and told him to cast downstream over toward the bank and let it drift, when it go to the end slowly raise the rod.  He did and a 20" Brown Trout took it!  First day out fly fishing.

I started fishing the soft hackle about a dozen years ago and now it is filling up my fly box more and more.  The reason?  Season after season when I evaluate the trips of the season, the soft hackle caught more fish than the other flies!  It is interesting to know that soft hackle fly fishing has been around for more than 500 years! It is certainly having a revival as one of the most fished type of flies in America and one of the most modified to meet local needs.   If I had one style to fish with all year long it would be the soft hackle, hands down

Sylvester Nemes last book, The Soft-Hackled Fly and Tiny Soft Hackles - A Trout Fisherman's Guide  Second Edition, is  pretty much a complet course and covers all the major styles.  I highly recommend this book - it is an Editor's

Choice!   Of course to those who know soft hackle, Sylvester is the authority of soft hackle fly fishing of the last century as well as the 21st century.  He has four books out on the subject, but the one above about covers it all.  Below are some of the traditional flies:

Below are some of the newer styles with beadheads, various hook styles, etc.

We are finding out more and more ways to fish these magical flies from the past!  Number 16 -18 hooks seem to work best for me the majority of the time, as does the traditional cast downstream and toward the bank, let it drift, raise the tip slowly as the fly straighten out in the current.  However, said that, this past year in Yellowstone Park I caught many by feeding the line out some when it reached the "straighten out" point and let it wiggle in the water a second or two, the started bringing it in in short 2 inch pulls.  After about three feet of that I would get the fly in quickly and cast again if you did not get a trout.  I have come to the conclusion through the years that it is 75% presentation and least drag possible, and 25% the exact match of the fly.  Soft hackle flies represent so many things as the hackle does its magic pulsating back and forth in the water's curents. 

PS:  If you tye your own flies, these are the easiest to tie of all flies!

Happy fly fishing 2008!

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