hackle fly

American  

noun

Angling.

1. an artificial fly made with hackles, usually without wings.

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hackle fly British  

noun

1. angling an artificial fly in which the legs and wings are represented by hackle feathers

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Etymology

Origin of hackle fly

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

I had a dog once, Luke, that was snapping at flies in general as he was lying on the porch here, and he snapped at a brown hackle fly that was hitched onto a fish-line.

From The Ramrodders A Novel by Day, Holman

Q.—When a fly is to be made in the above way without wings, called a hackle fly, how is it done?

From Blacker's Art of Fly Making, &c. Comprising Angling, & Dyeing of Colours, with Engravings of Salmon & Trout Flies by Blacker, William