The Tenkara USA Hare's Ear Soft Hackle

Earlier in the year, Tenkara USA reached out and asked me to share one of my favorite flies for tenkara fishing. I selected a pattern that I use for trout and warm-water fish like carp and panfish. I originally tied the fly for trout; the Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle was meant to imitate a caddis pupa, but with a few tweaks, it turned out to work even better in warm water.

The original Hare’s Ear Soft hackle, still one of my favorite emerger patterns.

The first versions of this pattern were tied without bead chain eyes and used ostrich herl at the front of the fly instead of a darker shade of hare’s ear dubbing.  Fished in the film, this was a killer pattern for both emerging caddis and mayflies. By changing the color and size of the fly it could represent the emerging phase of both insects.

The Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle tied with bead chain eyes.

A large Hare’s Ear nymph is one of my favorite flies for carp. The Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle transformed into one of my favorite carp flies when I made a few modifications to it. I added the bead chain eyes to help the fly sink, since carp feed primarily on or near the bottom. Those bead chain (or mono) eyes also added to the fly’s attractiveness when fished as a caddis pupa as well. I also swapped out the black ostrich herl for a contrasting color of hare’s ear dubbing.  The dubbing gave the fly a buggier appearance, was easier to wrap around the eyes, and was far more durable than the ostrich herl. The use of dubbing also allowed me to add a hot spot to the fly, something I often do.

Sunfish likely take the Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle as a damselfly or dragonfly nymph.

While carp fishing, a big redbreast sunfish once charged in and grabbed the fly just as a carp moved in to investigate, and that’s when I realized I probably had a good panfish pattern on my hands as well. The bead chain version of the Hare’s Ear Soft Hackle has been very effective in warm water, probably because the prominent eyes make it look like a damselfly or dragonfly nymph. This fly has been a go-to in my warm water nymph box for years, whether fished on its own or as a dropper. This fly is quick and easy to tie, holds up well, and you can tie it in a range of different colors by swapping out the natural hare’s ear dubbing for your dubbing color of choice. Just be sure to use a dubbing with lots of guard hairs for a buggy appearance. My favorite colors are natural hare’s ear, olive, dark brown, and black.

The Tenkara USA version of the pattern features larger bead chain eyes for a faster sink rate.

I picked this fly for Tenkara USA because it’s so versatile—it works just as well in warm or cold water. Most tenkara flies are meant to be fished below the surface, and this one is no exception. When the classic kebari style first came to the West, many people thought it was a dry fly, but it’s actually a wet fly, a wet fly designed to be fished with movement. Tenkara gear lets you add subtle movements to your fly, which really gets the fish’s attention. I don’t mean swinging or dragging the fly across the current, but giving it small twitches and pulses while it drifts naturally in moving water. In still water, I usually retrieve the fly with a pulsing retrieve, with slow sweeps of the rod, or use a hand-twist retrieve with a regular fly rod.

The flies sold by Tenkara USA are uniquely packaged.

This fly is now available for purchase on Tenkara USA’s website, but I’ve also included a recipe at the end of this post for anyone who likes to tie their own. When I look at my original emerger pattern and the version now offered by Tenkara USA, you can see how it changed from imitating a specific insect, like a caddis fly, to a more general pattern that could imitate many different things.

Pattern Recipe:
Hook: Natural Bend Panfish Hook (size 8 or 10)
Thread:  8/0 Semperfli Classic Waxed
Ribbing:  Fine gold, copper, or holographic tinsel
Body:  Light hare’s ear dubbing
Hot Spot (optional):  Orange hare’s ear dubbing Hackle: Partridge, grouse, or hen
Thorax: Dark hare’s ear dubbing
Eyes: Mono or bead chain (mono for fishing the film/bead chain for sinking flies)
Head: Dark hare’s ear dubbing x-wrapped around eyes.

The Full Dress Triangle Bug

The Triangle Bug has undergone many iterations since I first developed the fly over 20 years ago.  Over the years, I have tried many things with the pattern.  Two-toned bodies, different materials for the tail- I even tied Gerbubble bug versions with feather fibers sticking out the sides.  While all these flies caught fish, none seemed to be any more effective than the simple three-material fly with a foam body, silicone legs, and calf tail for the tail.

A large Gerbubble Bug version of the Triangle Bug that I occasional tie for bass and pickerel

A while ago I was cleaning up my fly tying desk, something I need to do frequently, as I am a very messy fly tier.  Stop by my table at any of the fly-fishing shows I tie at, and you will see what I mean. Most demonstration tiers keep their tying areas immaculate; mine usually looks like I just blew up a few birds and a small mammal on it!  During one of these cleaning sessions, I came across four pre-cut light olive Triangle Bug Bodies stamped out with my foam cutter form River Road Creations. There were also a few long shank, size 8 streamer hooks in the mix, left over from a feather wing streamer tying session.

This is an example of what my desk usually looks like!

Rather than chucking the four left over Triangle Bug bodies in the waste bin, I stopped my cleaning session and sat down at the vise to bang out four quick Triangle Bugs.  Right off the bat, I realized that these particular hooks would be too long for my standard-sized Triangle Bug.  Of course they would fish just fine, but when I finished the first one, that extra bit of hook shank hanging off the back of the body bothered me.  Among the other materials still to be put away was an olive hen neck that perfectly complemented the olive calf tail I used for the body.  A hen feather palmered on the hook shank nicely filled up what I felt was an unsightly gap between the body and the tail.  Some old trimmings of flash were also used in the tail.  The finished fly looked good, so I tied up three more with the remaining bodies and threw them in a fly box.

It was hard to little bass like this off of the full dress version of the Triangle Bug

The first time I fished the pattern, I was rewarded with a chunky little largemouth after a few casts; by the end of the session that fly had caught over half a dozen foot-long largemouths, and in the weeks that followed the fly continued to catch more small largemouths than panfish.  I even fished it on Connecticut’s Housatonic River for smallmouth bass and managed to catch a few smallmouth bass on the pattern.

Smallmouth bass could not resist the new Triangle Bug when slightly twitched on a dead drift.

While I routinely catch quite a few juveniles and the occasional 2-3-pound bass on standard Triangle Bugs, this dressed-up version seemed more attractive to bass than the standard version. Its performance with panfish was not as good as a standard Triangle Bug, but the ones it did catch were very large.  Over the course of the next few weeks, those four “full dress” triangle bugs racked up impressive numbers of small bass, so many that I decided to tie up some more and make them a regular addition to my top water fly box.

Another example of a large bass-sized Triangle Bug, complete with multiple legs in the body and the tail as well as saddle hackle and a feather collar. New larger Triangle Bug bodies coming soon!

Although I often tinker with fly patterns (my own and those others have developed), I usually do it with a specific purpose in mind, such as increasing visibility, making it sink slower/faster, float better, etc.  This version of the Triangle Bug was a happy accident, something that came about because I was looking to do something other than cleaning up my mess.

I tied up this dressed-up version a while ago and used Semperfli’s Straggle String as a tail dressing. It worked well but did not appear to be more effective than the original, nor did it attract the same number of bass.

I suspect it is the added bulk and the increased surface disturbance that make the full-dress version more attractive to bass, which also tends to keep away all but the larger sunfish.  While I will likely never change the clean, simple lines of the original Triangle Bug when using the fly to target panfish, the full-dress version is a great fly for those bodies of water that have big numbers of smaller bass or when you are looking to target bigger panfish.

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Pattern Recipe:
Hook: 4x long Streamer Hook size (original version uses a 3x long hook)
Thread:  6/0 Semperfli Classic Waxed Thread
Tail:  Calf tail and palmered hen hackle (Optional: a few strands of flash)
Body:  2mm Foam cut with the Triangle Bug Foam Cutter ( or cut a diamond shape by hand)
Legs: Silicone or round rubber

PJ's Bluegill Crusher

I’m always looking for new panfish patterns to try, even though my fly boxes are already full of good flies. Most new patterns don’t work better than my old favorites, so why keep searching? It’s because I love tying flies just as much as fishing. When I’m at the vise, I think about where I’ll use the fly or remember past trips. Tying keeps me connected to my favorite hobby, especially when I can’t get out on the water.

Low hanging branches over the water are a perfect place to present an ant or beetle pattern.

During the summer months, terrestrial insects become an important food source for panfish.  All manner of terrestrial insects find their way into the water.  Ants, beetles, caterpillars, spiders, and a host of other insects drop from trees and branches overhanging the water.  Windy days blow grasshoppers and other bugs out of bank-side vegetation.

Just this week, I went to a local lake and saw over a hundred bluegills and golden shiners feeding on the surface. At first, I couldn’t tell what they were eating. Then I noticed thousands of tiny winged termites emerging from the roots of a dead tree and blowing onto the water. These termites were about size 20. I don’t usually carry flies that small for panfish, but luckily sunfish aren’t as picky as trout. Almost any fly I cast into the feeding fish was eaten immediately.

PJ’s Bluegill Crusher with a few added tweaks, such as swapping natural peacock with synthetic for durability and a sighter for visibility.

The fly I used that day was new to me. A few weeks ago, I was searching for new ant and beetle patterns and found one called PJ’s Bluegill Crusher. It’s a simple, easy fly to tie that looks a bit like both an ant and a beetle. You can use it when fish are feeding on either insect.

This fly uses just three materials besides the hook and thread: foam, fine rubber legs, and peacock herl. I made a few changes when tying it for panfish. The first thing I changed was the peacock herl. Natural peacock herl looks great, but it’s very fragile and comes apart after a few fish. The fly still worked well even when the herl wore off, so I’m not sure it’s needed. But the herl does help spread out the rubber legs, which might be why it’s included. To keep the original look but make the fly tougher, I used Semperfli’s synthetic peacock instead. Now the fly is much more durable.

Since small, dark flies like this can be hard to see on the water, I added a small, bright foam sighter on top. This makes the fly much easier to spot. I tied them in sizes 10 and 12, since I rarely make panfish flies smaller than that. It can be tough to remove tiny flies from a sunfish’s mouth, so I prefer larger flies or patterns like the Triangle Bug, which are harder for fish to swallow.

For size 10 flies, I used Hareline 3mm foam. For sizes 12 to 16, I switched to 2mm foam, and for the smallest flies, I used 1mm foam. Evazote-style foam works great for this pattern because it floats all day and is very tough.

For the legs, I use fine span flex material, which comes in different brands and thicknesses. I pick the thinnest for small flies and standard for sizes 10 and 12. It’s a bit harder to work with than regular rubber or silicone legs, but it moves better in the water. Since it’s so thin, I can use more legs without making the fly bulky. I put 4-5 legs on each side.. I figure if the usual four legs are good, eight to ten are even better!

Foam flies tied with an open loop of foam like this Bluegill Bug leave a trail of bubbles when twitched on the surface.

The body of the fly is made from a loop of foam instead of a solid piece. This forms a small air pocket that makes bubbles when you pull the fly through the water. It’s a trick used in other foam panfish patterns, like the Bluegill Bug.

A good bluegill taken mid-day along a shaded bank.

Sunfish and small bass really like this pattern. I’ve caught good fish with it at dawn and dusk, including some bass. It’s also a great fly to use when searching for fish on a slow summer day. Casting it along shady banks has brought fish up during the day, too.

Pattern Recipe:
Hook: Curved Shank Nymph or Emerger Hook (sizes 12-8)

Thread: Semperfli Classic Waxed (8/0 or 6/0)

Body: 2mm Foam Strip

Underbody (optional): Peacock Herl or Semperfli Synthetic Peacock Herl

Legs: Flexi-Floss or Bug Legs in color of choice

Sighter: Bright colored 1mm foam

Below is a video from YouTube that demonstrates the tying procedure.

A Break From Tradition - The Rubber Leg Soft Hackle

A Proven Pattern - Why Change It?

Soft hackle wet flies are hands down my favorite panfish patterns when fishing below the surface. Traditionally tied soft hackles are extremely effective, so it may seem unnecessary to change them. However,  sometimes making a thoughtful adjustment—like adding rubber legs—can actually improve an already successful pattern. I do not believe in changing flies for the sake of novelty. Instead, my purpose is to explore whether rubber legs make the pattern more effective. Read on...

Traditionally tied Hare’s Ear Soft Hackles

A Break From Tradition

Knotted pheasant tail legs have been used on soft hackle flies for decades, adding movement and bugginess that hackle and dubbing alone cannot. The downside: knotted pheasant tail fibers are among the most delicate materials I've worked with, and the legs are time-consuming to make. Although finished flies look great, the legs often break after a fish or two.  

An adult cranefly pattern tied with knotted pheasant tail legs

Fixing The Problem

Looking for a more durable solution, I adopted a technique I used on another fly that used knotted pheasant tail fiber legs - the Crane Fly, also called Daddy Long Legs by our friends across the pond. Craneflies are one of my favorite summertime topwater panfish flies. The big, gangly bugs are common in my area, and I often encounter them on the water. The knotted pheasant legs are an essential aspect of this pattern, so I go through the trouble of adding them. However, they suffer the same problems as knotted pheasant tail legs on soft hackle wet flies. They are too damn fragile and don't last long. Once the fly loses its legs, it continues to work, but I get more looks and fewer refusals when the legs are present.

A adult cranefly tied with knotted silicon legs

Synthetic vs. Natural

I received samples of Hareline's Micro Grizzly Flutter Legs, which are thin, barred silicon legs ideal for small flies. Replacing the knotted pheasant tail legs on craneflies with this material made tying easier, and the legs are far more durable while preserving the multi-joint look.

Early versions of this pattern used knotted silicon legs

I next used micro-silicon legs to replace knotted pheasant tail in my soft hackle patterns. They worked well, offering better movement when the fly is pulled through water. Unlike knotted pheasant legs that collapse during retrieves, silicon legs stay active, enhancing the fly's appeal.

The K.I.S.S. Principle

My friend and fellow fly tier Lou Digena follows the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle in many of his flies, emphasizing that unnecessary complexity should be avoided—most systems work best when simple rather than complicated.

Eliminating the knots in the leg material made tying easier and did not reduce its effectiveness

Following this principle, I removed knots from the silicon legs. The fly still produced as well, so I was happy to skip the extra step of preparing knotted rubber legs.

Why Complicate Things By Adding Legs In The First Place?

Why even bother adding legs to an already successful fly? A traditional soft hackle is extremely productive for panfish, so it's fair to question if adding silicon legs is necessary. My thought was that adding silicon legs could make it more effective. This addition is not for novelty but for genuine performance improvement.

Panfish love rubber legs. The movement from added legs is irresistible, explaining why many panfish flies include them. Legs on soft hackles improve action and help prop up the hackle fibers when retrieved, giving the fly a more noticeable profile in stained waters.

The legs also extend the life of the fly. Hackle fibers are delicate and often get damaged. Rubber legs provide consistent movement and profile even after the hackle fibers are worn away, maintaining the fly's effectiveness. One could argue that the K.I.S.S. Principle may warrant eliminating the feather hackle completely. Maybe that is true, but I am not ready to go there…yet.

The Soft Hackle Hare’s Ear

One of my favorite soft hackle patterns for panfish is the Hare’s Ear.  When fishing the fly in warm water, I change it up a little. I swap the dark thorax of the traditional version for a bright orange one.  This provides a subtle bit of color that I feel attracts more fish.  It has been well documented that panfish have an affinity for bright colors. This was the first wet fly I added rubber legs to.  These days, I seldom tie them without adding fine rubber legs. Feel free to experiment with adding fine rubber/silicon legs to your favorite wet fly pattern.

Decide for yourself

Tie a few up and see if you notice an improvement over traditionally tied soft hackles. The core argument here is whether a simple addition—such as silicon legs—can enhance a classic pattern. Decide for yourself if this extra material is worth your time and effort on panfish wet flies.

The CK Nymph

Chuck Kraft’s “wonder” nymph is just at home on a trout stream as on a bluegill pond. It is a large, buggy general attractor style nymph that can imitate a stonefly, hellgrammite, cased caddis, large mayfly nymph, caterpillar, sunken terrestrial, small baitfish, leech, crayfish, dragonfly nymph, or any number of things that find their way into a fish’s diet.

Chuck Kraft developed the fly in 1961 and has been catching fish with it ever since. Its popularity has waned with the introduction of newer, sexier patterns, so it may not be on the radar of many anglers new to fly fishing. In addition to his fly tying, Chuck guided on the rivers of Virginia for twenty-five years. He guided now-famous anglers like Bob Clouser, Lefty Kreh, and Flip Pallot, to name a few. I had the opportunity to speak with him several times at fly fishing shows in New Jersey. To say he was confident in his flies was an understatement! Chuck developed many fly patterns, such as the popular Kreelex Streamer, a fly designed to emulate a Panther Martin spinner. However, it was the CK nymph that put him on my radar many years ago.

A black CK Nymph. For extra bugginess I brushed out the wool body.

At first glance, the CK nymph looks like a wooly worm, one of the oldest fly patterns in existence. A 1971 article in Field & Stream about this fly said that Chuck “gets burned up when people make the comparison .” Regardless of Chuck’s thoughts on the matter I see a wooly worm variation when I look at this fly. Like that early fly pattern, the CK nymph is just as deadly.

A size 12 and 10 yellow CK Nymph tied with Semperfli Dirty Bug Yarn and yellow grizzly hackle. One of my favorite colors for panfish. It is also a great trout pattern, as it likely imitates a golden stonefly

The fly is tied on a 3x long nymph/streamer hook sizes 8-14 and features a black wool body, a lemon wood duck flank feather tail, and a clipped grizzly hackle. The lemon wood duck tail and clipped hackle set it apart from a wooly worm. The fly is weighted with 025 lead wire (fifteen wraps, to be precise). In addition to black, he tied the fly in several other colors, including grey, olive, and yellow. For an extra-heavy nymph, you can add a bead. Wool is not as popular a tying material as it once was. You can substitute fine chenille or peacock herl if wool is not in your tying supplies. Semperfli’s Dirty Bug Yarn is the perfect modern alternative to the wool yarn in this pattern, and it is available in many more colors. I am also particularly fond of the peacock herl version, as that material has magical fish-attracting properties. I have been using Semperfli’s synthetic peacock herl when tying the fly for panfish, as it is virtually indestructible.

A bombproof version tied with 2mm Semperfli Synthetic PeacockHerl. This fly will stand up to dozens of fish.

One of the things I love about this pattern is that it helps me use lower quality or oversized grizzly dry fly hackle. An inexpensive webby hackle is preferred for this pattern. Since the hackle will be clipped, it is a great way to use up those larger feathers that always get left behind on all necks. Chuck is particular about the number of wraps of hackle on the body, that is, five evenly spaced wraps on the body and two in front of it as a collar.

Chuck also had an interesting spin on the use of fly-tying thread. He tied all of his flies using white thread, which is easy to see and preserves the colors of any body material used. When the fly is finished, he colors the head with a Sharpie marker in any color desired.

Fishing the fly in moving water is pretty straightforward. Cast it into riffles and runs where insects like stoneflies and hellgrammites call home. The weighted nymph tumbles along the bottom, where it is gobbled up by fish looking for an easy meal. In still water, I retrieve it with a slow hand twist or short strips.

A slow steady hand twist retrieve enticed this small crappie to hit.

Chuck passed away on March 9, 2020, but he left behind a treasure trove of effective fly patterns. He was an innovator in a now popular material called ultra suede. He would hand-cut various shapes to create his flies and sold the pre-cut tails commercially. He was also offered a variety of bug and popper bodies hand-carved out of cork. My fly boxes still contain some of his carved topwater patterns. If you want to see the man himself tie up a CK nymph, you can watch a video of Chuck tying his famous nymph on YouTube.