We've updated an iconic fly. Doug Swisher and Carl Richards first introduced the No Hackle in 1970. Hailed as revolutionary by Joe Brooks, the No Hackle is a masterpiece of simple, yet elegant design. A thinly-dubbed abdomen and thorax is punctuated by tails split at right angles and topped with wings of mallard duck quill segments, the trailing edges of which extend to the lower edge of the body. Placed in this manner, both the tail and the bottom of the wings serve as "outriggers", stabilizing the fly as it drifts.
The body floats flush in the water and the wings are cocked at 45-degree angles to match the attitude of a just-emerged dun, floating along while its wings inflate and dry. Gone was the "bottle brush" of wound hackle featured on nearly all dry flies up to that time. The pattern optimized the key visual triggers of size, color, and silhouette and improving how those features are viewed by the trout.
In honor of Doug and Carl, we've introduced No Hackle Wing cutters for use with our River Foam® brand Wing Sheet Material. No more wrestling with duck quill wings! River Foam® floats, is translucent, and more durable. And, the shape of our cutters retain the original silhouette of the classic! You'll be amazed at how fast you can tie the time-tested No Hackle - even down to size 20s!