Instructions: Soft Hackle March Brown

Tying Instructions: Soft Hackle March Brown




	1. Flatten the barb with the vise and attach the hook to the vise. Secure the thread a couple eye lengths behind the eye.
	2. Select a bundle of Mallard Flank barbs and secure the bundle to the top of the hook shank. The length of the tail should be about 3/4 the shank length.
	3. Secure a strand of narrow Gold Tinsel to the side of the hook shank. I'm using tinsel which has a silver and gold side. I need to anchor the gold facing the hook shank in order for the gold to show once spirol wrapped.
	4. Now wrap both the tinsel and the mallard flank to the bend of the hook with touching thread wraps. The final thread wrap goes between the hook shank and the mallard flank to lift the tailing fibers up.
	5. Dub the thread with the Superfine dry fly dubbing. Dub sparsely, we want a thin body. Twist the dubbing around the thread for a firm noodle.
	6. Wrap the dubbed thread forward to the position that you started your thread.
	7. Spirol wrap the tinsel forward with about 5 wraps and secure the tag end in front of the abdomen with thread wraps.
	8. Trim off the tag end of the tinsel and apply some more dubbing to the thread.
	9. Wrap a tight ball of dubbing in front of the abdomen. This ball of dubbing will help support the hackle fibers from sweeping back.
	10. Select a partridge feather from the back of the skin that is sized to the hook. Remove the lower fibers of the hackle and sweep back those fibers you intend to use. This leaves a space between the fibers in which you can anchor the hackle to the hook shank.
	11. With a couple of tight wraps, anchor the hackle to the top of the hook shank just in front of the dubbed thorax.
	12. The hackle provides 2-3 wraps to get the needed number of fibers. Anchor the bare quill of the hackle just behind the hook eye with tight thread wraps.
	13. If done correctly, the natural sweep of the hackle itself will flow the fibers backward. If you use the thread to sweep the fibers back, it will deaden much of the life from the fibers. Anchor the hackle tag and trim. Create a small head and whip finish.
	14. The finished Soft Hackle March Brown.