How to Tie the Patridge & Orange Soft Hackle Wet Fly

Learn how to tie the Partridge & Orange soft hackle wet fly pattern including step-by-step instructions, a video tutorial, pictures, and much more. Improve your fly tying skills here.

Trident Fly Fishing is a full-service fly shop. We spend a lot of time testing gear and writing reviews to give you all of the tools to make your next trip a success. We are not a blog or a review site. 100% of our funding comes from your gear purchases, so if this blog post helps you on your next fly fishing adventure, please support us by buying your gear from us.

The Partridge and Orange fly is one of the most effective soft hackle fly designs ever developed. It's also really easy to tie and only uses two materials. This is a great pattern for trout and steelhead and can be swung or dead-drifted. This pattern is great for prospecting new water or fooling finicky trout. Don't leave home without one.

Materials:

• Umpqua Competition C300BL Barbless Czech Nymph Fly Hook
• UNI Waxed Thread - Orange
• Hareline Hungarian Partridge Feathers
• Hareline Ice Dub - Orange

Step One:

Start your thread just behind the eye of the hook and wrap it rearward past the bend of the hook. Be sure to take touching turns; this thread base will become the body of the fly. Wrap the thread forward to create a double layer of thread that ends just behind the eye of the hook.

Step Two:

Use the Hareline Ice Dub to create a hot spot to pull the hackle against. This spot of dubbing will help give the fly more life in the water by capturing air bubbles and creating more movement and sound.

Step Three:

Select and tie in a single partridge feather from the Hareline Hungarian Partridge Skin. After tying in the feather in front of the dubbing, stroke the fibers rearward and wrap the feather around the hook to create the wing of the fly. Be sure the fibers are evenly spread around the hook. Tie off the partridge feather and snip the stem.

Step Four:

Throw a whip finish and add some head cement. The head cement will help hold your thread wraps in place and add durability to the fly.

Step Five:

And that's it! That's the Partridge & Orange, one of the easiest flies to tie with wide-ranging applications. This fly can be tied in a multitude of colors/styles and can be swung through a riffle, pool, or run. Try this one out next time you're at the vise tying trout flies.

Questions?

Give us a call here at the shop at (888) 413-5211 or email us anytime at [email protected].