Soft Hackle Saturday – Soft Hackle Streamer
A Soft Hackle Streamer eh? What be this devilry?
That is correct, a Soft Hackle Streamer. Before streamer fishing ever became a cool hip thing, and before most streamer fisherman were even born; fly anglers were fishing flies like this. Call it a soft hackle. Call it it a streamer. Many like just call them “Spiders”.
Popularized by Jack Gartside, fly fishing with soft hackle streamers is growing in popularity with the rise in spey fishing for trout. Most of these bugs are fished on the swing, but they can be stripped and jerked the same as any streamer. The most famous Spider (at least for Colorado) is the Platte River Spider. Spiders vary in recipe and technicality, but sometimes it’s nice to keep them simple.
Grab your favorite streamer hook, attach a few strands of flash, palmer one or more colors of marabou, and finish off with a palmered duck flank feather. You can crank these bad boys out by the half dozen in no time. Great for swinging on the spey, trailing behind a larger streamer, or giving to your buddy who can’t help but loose flies.
