Bodkin / Patterns

Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle

Nymph · Wet Fly · Trout · Intermediate · 1 version

BCFlyguys

  • Hook 2XL nymph hook
  • Thread Black 8/0

Materials

  • Copper wire, extra small Copper wire (counter rib)
  • Pheasant tail fibres Natural pheasant tail fibers (7-8, tail and body)
  • Peacock herl Natural peacock herl (1 strand, thorax)
  • Hen saddle feather (1, soft hackle)

How to tie it

  1. Start black 8/0 thread on a 2XL nymph hook and tie in extra small copper wire, followed by seven or eight pheasant tail fibres.
  2. Lash the tail down, form a light taper and wind the remaining fibres forward to make the body. Using the same bunch for tail and body means no extra tie-in and no bulge where the two meet.
  3. Counter rib the copper wire forward for segmentation and to protect the pheasant tail, then tie it off.
  4. Wrap a strand of peacock herl for the thorax and lash it down, then tear the excess out under thread tension.
  5. Tie a hen saddle feather in by the tip, preening the fibres back with each wrap and laying each turn on top of the last so the hackle stays a tidy collar rather than spreading down the body.
  6. Tie off, trim the stem, whip finish and glue the thread wraps.

Tying videos

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