The Red Tag Soft Hackle Bass Fly, created by Paul Fedeles, is a clever adaptation inspired by Rick Passek’s (the FlyFish Fanatic) Red Butt Carey Special. Fedeles openly admits to borrowing heavily from Passek’s design, jokingly referring to his version as a “plagiarised” fly. His rendition involves using a larger hook to accommodate bass fishing, adding a bead, and incorporating lead-free wire to give the fly more weight, ensuring it sinks effectively in the water.

Despite its thoughtful design, the Red Tag Soft Hackle Bass Fly’s creation didn’t come without a few hiccups. In the latter stages of tying the fly, Paul sheepishly acknowledges two significant mistakes: failing to fold down the wire and neglecting to fully cover the head with thread. These oversights, which could compromise the Red Tag Soft Hackle Bass Fly’s durability and appearance, were corrected after removing the fly from the vice.

Paul humorously confesses to using a black Sharpie to colour the exposed head, turning a potential flaw into a makeshift solution. Despite these blunders, the Red Tag Soft Hackle remains a reliable and effective fly for bass fishing, proving that even imperfect creations can perform admirably on the water.

Materials

• Hook:  Firehole curved hook size 8.
• Thread:  Black.
• Bead:  Nickle 7/64.
• Weight:  Three turns .020 lead free wire.
• Tail:  Red craft wool.
• Rib:  Fine red copper wire.
• Body:  Pheasant Tail crystal braid or Ice dubbing.
• Hackle:  Any large soft hackle.

Tying Instructions

1. Prepare all hooks with bead and lead-free wire first.
2. Place bead on the hook. Three turns of lead-free wire in front of the bead.

3. Tie thread behind the eye and cover hook back to the bend.
4. Tie in a red tag behind the bead and fold it over.

5. Tie it in back to the bend in the hook.
6. Trim tag half the length of the body.

7. Tie in the ribbing material.
8. Tie in the braid behind the bead and wrap back to the bend.

9. Wrap the braid back to the bead and tie it off.
10. Rib the body with the copper wire.

11. Whip finish and cut thread.
12. Reattach your thread in front of the bead.

13. Tie on a soft hackle feather.
14. Make three or four wraps of the feather to cover the lead.

15. Tie off, make a small head and whip finish.
16. Two drops of UV resin to seal the head.