Fly Tying Inventory
Green Drake Soft Hackle
Green Drake Soft Hackle is Cheech's version of a drake for swinging during the hatch. Mickey Anderson's research turned up fully formed adults, emergers and cripples in the mid column of the river, so a soft hackle made sense as a way to suggest all the appendages on those insects. A black pheasant tail, an olive biot body with a wire rib, and a CDC and partridge collar make up the fly. Green drakes vary a lot in color, so adjust the shades to match your local bugs. Tied here on a size 12 hook.
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Materials
Fulling Mill FM5027 Grab Gape Heavy Barbless, black nickel, size 12 (or FM5005 Heavyweight Champ Barbless)
12
Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread, 8/0, black (or brown olive)
Black · 8/0
Ringneck pheasant tail fibers, black (or Nature's Spirit Ringneck Pheasant Center Tails, black)
Black
Thin glue, for the biot body
Dyed Hungarian Partridge - Full Pelt - Grade #1, olive (or premium partridge feathers, olive)
Olive
How to Tie the Green Drake Soft Hackle
- 1
Step 1
Start the thread behind the hook eye and wrap a thread base back to the start of the bend.
- 2
Step 2
Tie in a small bunch of black pheasant tail fibers at the bend for the tail. Bind the butts along the shank, trim the excess and return the thread to the bend.
- 3
Step 3
Tie in the wire at the base of the tail for the rib.
- 4
Step 4
Tie in a light olive biot by its tip at the base of the tail.
- 5
Step 5
Bring the thread forward to the front of the body and run a thin coat of glue along the thread base. Wrap the biot forward in touching turns. Hackle pliers give a good grip on the biot.
- 6
Step 6
Tie off the biot and trim the excess, leaving room behind the hook eye for the collar.
- 7
Step 7
Spiral the wire forward through the biot body as a rib. Tie it off and break or trim the excess.
- 8
Step 8
Strip fibers from the CDC feathers and form a dubbing loop at the front of the body. Load the fibers into the loop and spin them into a soft rope.
- 9
Step 9
Wrap the CDC rope forward in front of the body as a collar, stroking the fibers back as you go. Tie it off and trim.
- 10
Step 10
Tie in an olive partridge feather in front of the CDC and wrap it as a sparse hackle, using hackle pliers.
- 11
Step 11
Tie off the partridge, trim the stem and stroke the fibers back over the body.
- 12
Step 12
Whip finish behind the hook eye.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wJ0igtxX0E
Credit: Cheech / Fly Fish Food