Wrapping up soft hackles (for a while) with the Craven’s Purple Soft Hackle. I generally refer to it as the Craven’s Soft Hackle as you can change the color of the body and you then you have a Craven’s Orange Soft Hackle, or a Craven’s Chartreuse Soft Hackle (you get the idea). I ran across this fly while researching soft hackle flies this past winter. It sort of reminded me of the Gill Candy, a panfish soft hackle, just not as flashy. I figured since I focused on so many classic patterns over the last few months I wanted to end with a more modern take on soft hackle flies. Although, in some ways it is not that “modern” as other traditional soft hackles have been tied using all of these techniques.
The interesting thing about soft hackle (or spider) flies is that the are very simple but very effective at what they do. There is also an endless variety to these flies that can be tied with more traditional materials or materials that are more modern. The original Craven’s Soft Hackle was tied with Beaver dubbing but I swapped it out for some Muskrat dubbing, keeping in the Gray dubbing ballpark. That said, you could use almost any type of dubbing or color as well as hackle on this fly and I am certain it would still fish very well. From a tiers perspective, it requires basic fly tying skills and is a good fly to get started in soft hackles. It is also a good fly to practice your skills. Change the floss color, the dubbing and the hackle and tie a half dozen of each in two sizes and before you know it you have a fly box full of effective flies as well as worked on refining your skills. I had fun tying this pattern and am looking forward to drifting some on my streams this summer. – Enjoy.
| Hook: | Mustad 3906, 3906b or 3399, #10 – #16 |
| Thread: | Uni-Thread 8/0, White and Black |
| Tag: | Danville Gold Mylar Tinsel, #16/18 |
| Body: | Danville 4-Strand Rayon Floss, Purple |
| Thorax: | Muskrat Dubbing |
| Hackle: | Hungarian Partridge |
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If you would like to purchase some Craven’s Purple Soft Hackles there are a number for sale (while supplies last).
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As always, if you have any questions about this fly (or any other) you can leave a comment on Dressed Irons or any of the videos I have produced and I will help in anyway I can. Enjoy!
Remember….. It’s Fly tying….. If you’re not having fun, You’re Doin’ It Wrong.