Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
Wet flies were the mainstay of fly angling for hundreds of years. Dry flies appeared only in the mid- to late 1800s, when light wire eyed hooks became available. Whether introduction of light wire hooks enabled dry fly fishing or, alternatively, whether increased demand for floating flies in the late 1800s motivated inventors and engineers to improve hook manufacturing is uncertain. Whatever the reason, wet fly fishing was the method choice for hundreds of years.
The first printed descriptions of artificial flies in the modern era are attributed to the English prioress Dame Juliana Berners. Her chapter, titled “A Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle” and published in the Book of Saint Albans in 1496, described how to make fishing rods, lines, hooks, and artificial flies. Her twelve flies imitated English insects, and the pattern recipes specified feathers of various birds for wings. Berners used the terms “wings” and “hackle” rather loosely and interchangeably, which led some scholars (for example, G.E.M. Skues and J.W. Hills) to suggest that several of Berners’ flies were not winged wet flies, but rather soft-hackled flies, in which a collar of hackle at the head simultaneously imitates both wings and legs.
The patterns and principles of soft-hackled flies developed in the English north. Such flies are slim bodied and sparsely dressed with tying thread or furs spun on tying thread, and finished with a collar of soft bird hackle. The colored underbody of thread shows through overlying materials, thereby suggesting the translucency of a natural. Tied in varying sizes and colors, soft-hackled flies suggest, but don’t precisely imitate, nymphs, larvae, pupae, and emergers of many aquatic insects.
The early history of the soft-hackled style was not well recorded at the time, likely because its history, methods and traditions were communicated ephemerally via the spoken word rather than permanently via printed books. Unambiguous descriptions of soft-hackled flies are found among the 65 fly patterns of Charles Cotton in The Compleat Angler (1676). Shortly thereafter, James Chetham introduced many of the soft-hackled furs and feathers still popular today in The Angler’s Vade Mecum (1681). Over a century ensued with little added new information about soft-hackled flies, after which a golden age of the style exploded in print during the 19th century. The period culminated in two books having great impact, Yorkshire Trout Flies by Thomas Pritt in 1885 and Brook and River Trouting by Harfield Edmonds & Norman Lee in 1916.
Soft-hackled flies crossed the Atlantic only slowly. James Leisenring of Pennsylvania introduced soft-hackled flies to American anglers in his influential 1941 book The Art of Tying the Wet Fly. Prior to that, most American wet flies were winged wet flies. For example, of the 420 wet flies pictured in Ray Bergman’s 1938 classic work Trout, 402 were winged wets, and none were soft hackles. Leisenring changed all that. His 1941 book described how to tie soft-hackled flies and included 30 patterns, many of which were his modifications of classic English flies. It is difficult to find a more influential 81 pages in American angling literature. Leisenring only briefly described how to fish soft-hackled flies, but this was remedied by a second edition (The Art of Tying the Wet Fly & Fishing the Flymph, 1971) co-authored with Pete Hidy.
Cast soft-hackled flies upstream or upstream-and-across, either in the film as an emerger or drifted more deeply as a nymph or pupa. Soft-hackled flies swung through a riffle are excellent imitations of ascending caddis pupae. They are very good trailers when fished behind an indicator dry or a weighted nymph for deep presentation. Try them in the sizes and colors of insects you encounter. You might be surprised how effective a hundreds-year-old pattern can be.
Copyright 2018, Rusty Dunn
Hare’s Lug & Plover
“Lug” is an old Scottish term for “ear”. Thus, the Hare’s Lug & Plover is a good old Soft-Hackled Hare’s Ear. Tie the spun fur sparsely and scraggly.
| Hook: |
Light wire, wet fly; #12-20 |
| Thread: |
Yellow or orange silk |
| Body: |
Hare’s mask fur, blended to a golden ginger-brown and spun loosely |
| Rib: |
Fine gold wire |
| Hackle: |
Golden plover, length to between the hook point and hook bend, depending on your preferences. |
Hare’s Lug & Plover
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Last Updated: December 5, 2018 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
Wet flies were the mainstay of fly angling for hundreds of years. Dry flies appeared only in the mid- to late 1800s, when light wire eyed hooks became available. Whether introduction of light wire hooks enabled dry fly fishing or, alternatively, whether increased demand for floating flies in the late 1800s motivated inventors and engineers to improve hook manufacturing is uncertain. Whatever the reason, wet fly fishing was the method choice for hundreds of years.
The first printed descriptions of artificial flies in the modern era are attributed to the English prioress Dame Juliana Berners. Her chapter, titled “A Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle” and published in the Book of Saint Albans in 1496, described how to make fishing rods, lines, hooks, and artificial flies. Her twelve flies imitated English insects, and the pattern recipes specified feathers of various birds for wings. Berners used the terms “wings” and “hackle” rather loosely and interchangeably, which led some scholars (for example, G.E.M. Skues and J.W. Hills) to suggest that several of Berners’ flies were not winged wet flies, but rather soft-hackled flies, in which a collar of hackle at the head simultaneously imitates both wings and legs.
The patterns and principles of soft-hackled flies developed in the English north. Such flies are slim bodied and sparsely dressed with tying thread or furs spun on tying thread, and finished with a collar of soft bird hackle. The colored underbody of thread shows through overlying materials, thereby suggesting the translucency of a natural. Tied in varying sizes and colors, soft-hackled flies suggest, but don’t precisely imitate, nymphs, larvae, pupae, and emergers of many aquatic insects.
The early history of the soft-hackled style was not well recorded at the time, likely because its history, methods and traditions were communicated ephemerally via the spoken word rather than permanently via printed books. Unambiguous descriptions of soft-hackled flies are found among the 65 fly patterns of Charles Cotton in The Compleat Angler (1676). Shortly thereafter, James Chetham introduced many of the soft-hackled furs and feathers still popular today in The Angler’s Vade Mecum (1681). Over a century ensued with little added new information about soft-hackled flies, after which a golden age of the style exploded in print during the 19th century. The period culminated in two books having great impact, Yorkshire Trout Flies by Thomas Pritt in 1885 and Brook and River Trouting by Harfield Edmonds & Norman Lee in 1916.
Soft-hackled flies crossed the Atlantic only slowly. James Leisenring of Pennsylvania introduced soft-hackled flies to American anglers in his influential 1941 book The Art of Tying the Wet Fly. Prior to that, most American wet flies were winged wet flies. For example, of the 420 wet flies pictured in Ray Bergman’s 1938 classic work Trout, 402 were winged wets, and none were soft hackles. Leisenring changed all that. His 1941 book described how to tie soft-hackled flies and included 30 patterns, many of which were his modifications of classic English flies. It is difficult to find a more influential 81 pages in American angling literature. Leisenring only briefly described how to fish soft-hackled flies, but this was remedied by a second edition (The Art of Tying the Wet Fly & Fishing the Flymph, 1971) co-authored with Pete Hidy.
Cast soft-hackled flies upstream or upstream-and-across, either in the film as an emerger or drifted more deeply as a nymph or pupa. Soft-hackled flies swung through a riffle are excellent imitations of ascending caddis pupae. They are very good trailers when fished behind an indicator dry or a weighted nymph for deep presentation. Try them in the sizes and colors of insects you encounter. You might be surprised how effective a hundreds-year-old pattern can be.
Copyright 2018, Rusty Dunn
Hare’s Lug & Plover
“Lug” is an old Scottish term for “ear”. Thus, the Hare’s Lug & Plover is a good old Soft-Hackled Hare’s Ear. Tie the spun fur sparsely and scraggly.
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