What is the “Soft Hackle Streamer”?

It’s a pretty darn good fly if you ask us up here.

We had this question this week from one of our readers, so we decided to re-hash a past post. Basically, the Gartside Soft Hackle streamer, named after the recently passed great fisherman and fly tyer Jack Gartside, comes in a variety of colors, each of which seems to work at different times of the year. My favorite, the gray soft hackle, seems to work at any time of year, while the tan and white versions are preferred during the summer months.

The design of this fly really lends itself to imitating a smelt, so that’s why we use it – a stream lined head, with a palmered marabou body that looks amazingly fishy when wet, and it resembles the smelt that come through the dam at Lake Francis in the winter. It’s also a great pattern in the spring when the smelt are running up the river from the lakes, with the salmon close on their tails.

This fly is a big seller for us at the lodge and can be in short supply at times, so you can learn how to tie the Gartside Soft Hackle from the master himself if you need to whip one up.

Thanks Jack