Fed’s Badger Soft Hackle is a simple, lively wet fly built to suggest a wide range of emerging insects and drifting food forms. A slim body of possum under-fur gives it a natural, slightly scruffy translucence, while the soft badger hen neck hackle pulses enticingly in the current. Subtle, versatile, and full of movement, it is a dependable pattern for trout in rivers and lakes alike.
Materials
- Hook:Curved emerger size 14.
- Thread:Sheer Black 14/0.
- Body:Possum under-fur.
- Hackle:Badger hen neck.
Tying Instructions
- Start the thread and lay an even foundation along the hook shank.
- Form a dubbing loop at the rear of the body.
- Cut a small clump of possum fur.
- Remove the guard hairs, then place the under-fur evenly in the loop.
- Spin the loop and dub a rough, tapered body forward.
- Select a badger hen hackle and measure it to approximately the hook length.
- Tie in the feather by the tip and make four or five turns at the head.
- Sweep the fibres rearward, secure the stem, and trim the excess.
- Build a neat, compact head.
- Finish with two half-hitches and a single drop of Sally Hansen’s Hard as Nails.
