Simple Fish Catcher
David Hutton, APRIL 2021Simple Fish Catcher
Palmetto Fly n Fish
How would you like a simple, hackled fly that nearly always get a bite?
What if it's not exotic, complicated, or tied from costly materials?
Suppose it has a warm, fuzzy appeal?
Well, there is such a fly.
What if it's not exotic, complicated, or tied from costly materials?
Suppose it has a warm, fuzzy appeal?
Well, there is such a fly.
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Origin
This fly came into being after a birthday trip to Hobby Lobby for my wife. She got treated to a little shopping spree, and I ended up with a small bag of mixed furnace saddle hackle.
These little bags cost $3-4 USD, and after sorting, they offer about 75 useful feathers for tying flies.Most are 2-4" long, some slim, some spade shaped.
There are always some scruffy, ragged plumes included, too.
Taken as a whole, the feathers in the bag present a challenge. They don't match, they are of different shapes and sizes, and the first thing you usually say when you see them laid out is: "Just what am I going to do with them?"
I used these bagged feathers when I first started tying flies, because they were readily available, and I didn't know any better.
At the time, I didn't know you were expected to use certain hackle for certain things. I went outside the box a lot when I first started. I still don't adhere closely to all the rules.
But, because these are what I had, well, I hit on a pattern for my local lake that uses these mundane feathers.
PS My wife is gone today, the victim of cancer. I soldier on and remember her as I read this.
RIP Lori Jean...God bless you
Giving It A Name
The fly was inspired by two things.
The first is a pattern called, "The Water Cricket," seen in the old Ray Bergman book, "Trout."
Second, I once tied a single hackle on a hook, palmer style, and it caught tons of fish.
Just the hackle - nothing else.
With these two ideas banging around in my head, I slung together the following:
(1) A short tail, usually of hackle feather barbs
(2) An underbody of sparkly Mylar
(3) A "body" of palmered hackle
(4) A hackle collar
Because of all these hackle elements, and the name of the nearby lake where I first used them, I have come to call them, "Lake Murray Hackle Flies," or, "M.H.F's" for short.
M.H.F.'s and the bagged feathers
Inside The M.H.F
- Hook: if you’re a devoted hook hound, I'm gonna leave you hanging on this one....I have no manufacturer names to trow at you. A streamer hook, 3XL or so is best, but use what you have. I use Aberdeens. Nothing fancy here.
- Tail: hackle fibers from the bottom end of the feather, or the marabou-like fluff from the base.
Or both. Or neither - this fly works without a tail.
I ad a tail because it makes the fly look "real."
- Underbody: Mylar tinsel
The hook shank is wrapped with iridescent Mylar tinsel, which shows through the body hackle, and adds a little flash. I was inspired to use pearl, or yellow, - because I have a lot of it.
PS other materials work for the underbody, too. Copper colored strips from pot scrubbers look nice and add a little weight (See pic, below) - Palmered hackle body: well tapered hackle, tied in at the tail by the tip, then folded backward as it is wound so the fibers face rearward.
I use it all, too, getting all the feather has to offer.
- Hackle Collar: This is just behind the head, and gives the fly some "shoulders" and a lifelike profile.
Details
The main goal of the tying is to get an increasing taper from tail to front, with a shoulder of hackle fibers out front.
To that end, I palmer them in fairly open wraps from the rear, tightening a bit until I reach the shoulder area.
There, I tighten up the wraps so I get more of the longer base fibers at the front.
If needed, I'll add another hackle at the front to bush it up.
Because these bagged feathers are large, I don't go smaller than a size 10, with size 6 being what I normally shoot for. This is about right for the larger bluegill and average-sized bass that might take this fly.
The head is often finished in black, because I like a black head.
The main goal of the tying is to get an increasing taper from tail to front, with a shoulder of hackle fibers out front.
To that end, I palmer them in fairly open wraps from the rear, tightening a bit until I reach the shoulder area.
There, I tighten up the wraps so I get more of the longer base fibers at the front.
If needed, I'll add another hackle at the front to bush it up.
Because these bagged feathers are large, I don't go smaller than a size 10, with size 6 being what I normally shoot for. This is about right for the larger bluegill and average-sized bass that might take this fly.
The head is often finished in black, because I like a black head.
The all white one, below, is an example of that. It resembles a bait fish, perhaps….
I have tied a few M.H.F's with some weight, in the form of lead strip wrapped around the hook shank before the Mylar goes on.
When I do that, my usual practice is to add a dot of red nail polish under the "chin" of the fly. It's my personal way of denoting weighted flies.
No red on the bottom of the head, ...no added weight.
These are usually tied in the two best colors I've found - white and brown.
I've also used orange, yellow, and black, although white and brown are mostly enough.
These flies probably represent a nymph, or a small baitfish, or,...well, who knows? I'm no good at reading the minds of women, or fish.
MHF Variation, white
Tail of marabou fluff, taken from the main feather
MHF Copper
MHF Copper
Tail of rabbit fur, underbody is copper from a pot scrubber
Fishing The M.H.F.
1. Cast and countdown to depth.
By itself, the fly has a sink rate I describe as 'lazy': 2-3 seconds per foot.
2. Once down where you want it, give a few easy strips, then a pause.
3. Crawl it along with a figure-8 retrieve, adding an occasional quick twitch... then that pause again.
By itself, the MHF is not a deep, gravel-grubbing fly.
All that hackle on there prevents that.
So, because of that leisurely sink rate, The MHF demands a little patience.
But its the hang-pause that seems to trigger interest in the fly and I get as many strikes on the pause as I do during the retrieve.
If you want to get down a little faster, put some weight on the leader in the form of split shot, Twist On weights (my favorite), or tungsten putty*. This way, you don't disturb the free movement of the fly.
Adding a sink tip, or a sinking line is still another way to get the MHF down deeper.
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* NOTE: If tungsten putty is unfamiliar to you, I give you all you may ever want to know about it, here:
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The Murray Hackle Fly doesn't do well around thick weeds, with that bare hook point, but Lake Murray is like most Southern impoundments and isn't overly weedy.
That means, the Murray Hackle Fly does well around rocky embankments, rock outcroppings, boat ramps, docks, downed wood, edges of cover, and so on.
Conclusion
Polly Rosborough used to say, "The goal is to create flies that look like something a fish would want to eat."
I have caught shellcracker, bluegill and bass on the M.H.F...so, it must do that much, at least!
The Murray Hackle Fly doesn't look like much, but it works. It is cheap, easy to make, and it uses materials that most “fly bro's” wouldn’t admit they have.
Taken together, that is a win all around, my friends!
Gaggle of M.H.F.'s
The First M.H.F.
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Do you want to add the catching flies seen here to your own fly or tackle box?
Do you have questions, compliments, or suggestions?
If so, email me at...dahutist@gmail.com