The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

The Best Anglers Never Stop Learning

Emerger

Smoke N Bones Soft Hackle

Insect Species Icon Quill Gordon, Blue Wing Olive, Callibaetis and 9 others
Difficulty Icon Medium - 3-5 Min
Water Category Icon Coldwater

Tying Video

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Tying Recipe
  • Hook: Natural curve nymph hook 2x long 2x wide size #12
  • Thread: UTC 70 denier grey brown
  • Tail: Coq-de-Leon medium pardo
  • Body: Turkey biot natural
  • Rib: 6x monofilament
  • Thorax: UV fly finish smoke
  • Wing: Hen saddle speckled grey
  • Hook: Any 2x long hook will work, straight shank, curve shank, doesn’t matter. Straight-eye is preferred for tracking while swinging.
  • Thread: Any thin diameter thread will work. Try not to go thicker than 8/0 or 70 denier as it will bulk too much, but go as thin as you like.
  • Tail: Pheasant tail is a great substitute, though it may be a little bit weaker.
  • Body: Turkey biots are preffered, but d-rib is an excellent synthetic that will have a great ribbing effect.
  • Rib: Use small round wire if you want some contrast.
  • Thorax: Use grey dubbing if you don’t have UV resin.
  • Wing: Hungarian partridge is a great substitute.

You can tie up this soft hackle in any color body and winging material you like. The important part about this fly is the grey thorax that indicates the gas bubble that mayflies need to float to the surface, so try to keep that in. If you’re looking for a little bit of flash, replace the ribbing material with some UTC mirage opal in small for a great flashy rib. For a fly that pushes a little bit more water, try to add some CDC underneath the hen saddle so it holds it up and makes a bigger wake.

This is a great swing fly for shallow water when there are a lot of bugs hatching at ones. This impressionistic pattern will resemble many different species of mayflies, and odds are, one of those species is swimming around. This is also a great swing fly in late summer/early fall when water levels are getting low, as it wont be too intrusive on the fish.

For best results for swinging mayfly emergers, use the down and across method. This requires a downstream approach where you cast the fly across the stream at 45 degrees down stream. Mend your line back across to get the fly maximum time in the water and a bit more of a straight upstream presentation. Once you make two or three casts in the same area, take two steps down river and repeat.

Blue Wing Olive

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Northwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: East
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Southeast
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24
Region: Midwest
Blue Wing Olive
Sizes: #16 - #24

Brown Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: East
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
Brown Drake
Sizes: #10 - #14

Callibaetis

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West
Callibaetis
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Northwest
Callibaetis
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: East
Callibaetis
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Midwest
Callibaetis
Sizes: #12 - #18

Green Drake

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, Midwest
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14
Region: East
Green Drake
Sizes: #8 - #14

Hendrickson

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Midwest
Hendrickson
Sizes: #10 - #16

Hexegenia

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
Hexegenia
Sizes: #6 - #12

Isonychia

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Southeast
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18
Region: Midwest
Isonychia
Sizes: #12 - #18

Light Cahill

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Midwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20
Region: Northwest
Light Cahill
Sizes: #12 - #20

Mahogany Dun

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20
Region: East, Midwest
Mahogany Dun
Sizes: #14 - #20

March Brown

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, East
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Northwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14
Region: Midwest
March Brown
Sizes: #10 - #14

PMD

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: West, Northwest, East, Southeast, Midwest
PMD
Sizes: #14 - #20

Quill Gordon

Regional Hatch Chart Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Region: East, Southeast
Quill Gordon
Sizes: #12 - #16

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