Wood Duck Soft Hackle

Wood Duck Soft Hackle

The duck feathers from early season hunting have been begging me to tie a few flies, so when they came out of the freezer a few nights ago I had to sit down and stock the boxes. Wood duck feathers are some of my absolute favorites to tie with. The chocolate brown feathers on a hen wood duck are awesome for Baetis-style flies, and since Baetis are hatching right now on the streams, I decided to go with a BWO theme. I’ve been wanting to tie a soft hackle with the tiny feathers on the shoulder of a duck’s wing, so I tied up this little soft hackle emerger that ended up faintly resembling a BWO…

Wood Duck Soft Hackle
Wood Duck Soft Hackle
  •  Hook: Nymph or wet fly hook of your preference
  • Bead: Gold brass
  • Thread: Brown 8/0 UNI (I used black on this one)
  • Tail: Chocolate brown hen wood duck breast/neck feather fibers
  • Body: Brown thread
  • Rib: Fine gold copper wire
  • Thorax: Natural red squirrel
  • Hackle: Dark brown duck soft hackle feather (not sure what it’s called but I used the small feather on the top side of the wing close to the body)

 

 

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