Soft Hackles in the Fall

Fun, simple fly fishing

Winter weather is getting nearer, but fall hasn't made a full exit yet. We still have plenty of fall color, a few hatching insects, and decent weather in the forecast.

Good fishing still exists on rivers like the Spokane River and maybe just as much on the lower stretches of the NF Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, and Clark Fork Rivers.

On the local river hatches of fall caddis, bwo's, and midges will still have fish looking up and fishing classic tactics / patterns like soft hackles can pay off dividends for picky late season risers.

This simple tactic can be done most of the year but it really excels in situations where trout are keyed in on aquatic insect emergences.

Also, if you have trouble seeing small fly patterns like bwo's on the surface fishing a tight line to a soft hackle can keep you in the game for rising trout by fishing a wet fly pattern just below the film. You may not get the visual of a trout sipping your dead drift fly off the surface but you get to see the boil just below and the feel of the grab, which is double the fun!

Check out the video below we made a number of years ago for some good, foundational information to get started fishing with soft hackles.