Partridge and Orange

The Partridge and Orange is an artificial fly commonly categorized as a wet fly or soft hackle and is fished under the water surface. The fly is a very well known fly with its roots set firmly in English angling history. It is an impressionistic pattern fished successfully during caddis hatches and spinner falls.[1] The Partridge and Orange is traditionally a trout and grayling pattern but may be used for other aquatic insect feeding species.

Partridge and Orange
Artificial fly
TypeWet fly, soft hackle
ImitatesEmerging caddis or mayfly
History
CreatorUnknown, described by T.E. Pritt (1895)
Created19th century
Other namesSpiders
Materials
Typical sizes12–18
Typical hooksTMC 206BL, Daiichi 1130, Mustad C49S
ThreadPersall's Gossamer Silk, 6/0–8/0 nylon, Orange
TailNone
BodyThread
RibbingFine gold wire (optional)
HackleEnglish or Hungarian partridge neck
ThoraxTan rabbit fur
Uses
Primary useTrout, grayling
Other usesPanfish
Reference(s)
Pattern referencesTrout Flies-The Tier's Reference (1999), Hughes[1]

Origin
Pritt's Orange Partridge (1885)

Soft-hackled flies as they are known today and in particular The Partridge and Orange originated in the north country of England and were first described by Joseph Wells in his 1842 publication THE CONTEMPLATIVE ANGLER. Later, T. E. Pritt's Yorkshire Trout Flies (1895) publication built upon Wells' earlier work and contained many of Wells' listed patterns, and were probably from the same source.

No. 32. ORANGE PARTRIDGE. Hook 1. WINGS. Hackled as in No. 31. BODY. Orange silk. These are practically the same flies, and are very excellent killers. I prefer the dressing of No. 32 myself, although one will kill as well as the other, and the angler may look upon one of them as indispensable on his cast from April to September, on warm days. It is the Turkey Brown of Ronalds, and the Spiral Brown Drake of Theakston.[2]

Sylvester Nemes in The Soft-hackled Fly popularized this style of artificial fly in the early 1980s while giving credit to Pritt and many others for the evolution of this genera of pattern which had also been known as spiders.[1]

Imitates

The Partridge and Orange resembles emerging caddis pupa, diving adult caddis or sunken may fly spinners[3]

Pattern
  • Hook: 12 – 18 medium/light wet fly or caddis pupa
  • Thread: Orange 6/0 or 8/0
  • Body: Formed with tying thread
  • Rib: Fine gold wire (optional)
  • Hackle: Mottled brown partridge

Variations and sizes

The Partridge and Orange is typically tied on standard wet fly and nymph hooks unweighted but may be tied on short caddis pupa hooks. Some tiers tie a bead head version. The gold ribbing may be omitted or replaced with a thread ribbing. There are similar versions of this fly known as the Partridge and Yellow and the Partridge and Green. Many tiers include a small section of fur dubbing for a thorax. Soft-hackle nymphs based on the Partridge and Orange design are tied with a wide variety of quill, feather and dubbed bodies.

Images of soft-hackle nymphs
  • Brown trout with soft-hackle fly
  • Typical partridge feather used for soft-hackle flies
  • Partridge and Olive, Olive Goose Quill fiber body
  • Partridge and Pheasant, Pheasant Tail fiber body
  • Partridge and Yellow, Yellow silk body
  • Starling and Purple, Purple silk body, Starling hackle

Further reading
  • Nemes, Sylvester (1975). The Soft-Hackled Fly. Greenwich, CT: Chatham Press. ISBN 0-8117-1670-8.
  • Hughes, Dave (1995). Wet Flies: Tying and Fishing Soft-Hackles, Winged and Wingless Wets, and Fuzzy Nymphs. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-1868-9.
  • Nemes, Sylvester (2004). Two centuries of soft-hackled flies–A survey of literature complete with original patterns. Mechanicsburg, Pa.: Stackpole Books. ISBN 0-8117-0048-8.
  • Smith, Robert L (2015). The North Country Fly: Yorkshire's Soft Hackle Tradition. Machynlleth, Powys. Coch-y-Bonddu Books. ISBN 9781904784654.

Notes
  1. Hughes, Dave (1999). Trout Flies–The Tier's Reference. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 123. ISBN 978-0-8117-1601-7.
  2. Pritt, Thomas E. (1895). Yorkshire Trout Flies. Leeds, UK: Goodall and Suddick. p. 32.
  3. Schwiebert, Ernest (1973). Nymphs-A Complete Guide to Naturals and Imitations. New York: Winchester Press. p. 97. ISBN 0-87691-074-6.
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