Mike Lawson's No Hackle

"The No Hackle fly tied without hackle and duck quill segment wings has been around for a long time. I once saw an assortment of fly patterns tied by Frederic Halford dating back to the early 1880s. There is strong evidence that this type of fly was used at least a century before. My personal introduction to the No Hackle came in 1972 from the book Trout Fishing by Joe Brooks. He referenced the effectiveness of the No Hackle on the Railroad Ranch section of the Henry's Fork. More importantly he introduced Doug Swisher and Carl Richards and their superb book, Selective Trout published in 1971. I wasted no time purchasing the book and began tying the patterns described. Most of the patterns were easy to tie and were extremely effective on the selective trout of the Ranch. The duck quill No Hackle was another story. I gave up after a few feeble attempts at tying it. Back at the camp trailer I spent countless hours wasting time and dozens of duck quills trying to figure out how he could get the wings so perfect. I never began to master the process but at least it was a start. And so over time I perfected it." - Signature Tyer Mike Lawson