parashute hackles

[kevinmac]

Hi Istarted to tie parashute flies and would like to know how to guage the hackle size.

[arjxh56]

Hi,
I am new to tying and at my tying class we were told that the hackles should be equivelent to the legnth of the shank...

I await the pros response as i bet there are a thousand variables to this..


Although.... I am not sure the fish care too much as i tied a parachute adams and didnt have any feathers small enough. I tied it with a hackle that was about twice as long as I was told should have been. It still catches fish and it floats really well too . . It wouldnt win any tying competitions though!!

[silver creek]

Parachute hackle can be tied 1 size larger than the hook size, and the fly will look acceptable.

You can tie the hackle fibers around the post either concave (dull) or convex (shiny) side down to get a lower or higher floating fly. The lower profile is more realistic and I tie most parachutes this way.

Since the hackle is ABOVE the body, this places the body of the fly in the film, and imitates a stage of emergence that is earlier than the a dun that is ready to fly off.

[arjxh56]

When you say 1 size larger than the hook, do you mean if I am tying a size 16 i would use a hackle equal to the length of a size 14 shank?

[kevinmac]

thank you Silver Creek,your information very helpful.regards Kevinmac.

[silver creek]

Originally Posted by arjxh56

When you say 1 size larger than the hook, do you mean if I am tying a size 16 i would use a hackle equal to the length of a size 14 shank?

That is correct.

The hackle on a parachute fly does NOT represent the wings as it does on patterns with the hackle wound around the shank. So one can vary a bit. I've even seen patterns tied with clipped hackle and they don't look as pretty as non clipped but you can shorten longer hackle to use on smaller flies when you don't have the right size.

If you have flies with hackle that is a bit long, and the fish come up and look but do not take the fly, use an iris scissor to clip the hackle down. You can modify the post and even the tail fibers. I always carry a small pair if fine tipped iris scissors with me.

As a type of fly, there is a changing view of what the fish actually take this fly to be. My opinion is that it is not seen by most fish as a true dry fly of the sub-imago phase. Rather, it is seen as a form of emerger. See the article below, where my friend Gary Borger breaks emergence into stages and the parachute adams is placed into stage 3.

http://www.flyfisherman.com/content/film-flies




Notice that the Klinkhammer is placed into this same stage. These are what are called "suspender patterns" because the parachute hackle or other suspender material such as CDC is used to keep the fly in the film. In this theory of staging, the tail of a standard parachute is seen by the fish not as the tails of a dun but the trailing shuck.

As Gary says, you can't run with your pants down and a emerging fly cannot fly off while it's nymphal shuck is attached.

If you are a fan of the Klinkhammer, you can bend the shank of the hook and get a version of the Klinkhammer.

The other beauty of a parachute pattern is that you can cut off the post and you have an instant spinner pattern. So it can be fished during emergence, and during the spinner fall with a clip of a pair of iris scissors.

I wrote and article for out State Trout Unlimited newspaper. See pg. 23 in the publication below. Note that I have tied this parachute pattern with the hackle tied so that the fly will ride lower in the film to better imitate the stage 4 emerger. The 3rd photo is obviously incorrectly labelled. it isa Klinkhammer and you can see the similarity between photo 2 and 3. Cutting off the tail would give you a fly that will sink faster as the Klinkhammer is designed to do.:

http://www.wisconsintu.org/LinkClick...bid=58&mid=381

There are two methods that I use to tie off the hackle. The first is to tie it off on the bottom of the post, This gives you a lower riding fly and is the method I used on the flies in the article. It is demonstrated by Charlie Craven.

Charlie's FlyBox - Colorado's Best FlyShop and online Fly Tying Tutorials


If you want to tie it in behind the hook eye use this method.

Most fly tiers will make the final wrap of hackle around the post and then take the hackle to the front. Then they wrap the thread over the hackle to tie it in.

Try this instead. Take the tread to in front of the post and just in front of the dubbed thorax. It should be a couple of turns behind the eye to leave space for the whip finish. Let the bobbin hang down on the other side of the hook.

Now wrap the hackle down the post with your right hand, and for the final wrap, take the hackle under the bobbin and back over the hook. Now the hackle is under the thread and the weight of the bobbin will keep the hackle from unwinding!

Taking the hackle under the thread and bobbin keeps you from trapping the previously wrapped hackle fibers in the tie down.

Transfer the hackle from your right to your left hand and pull gently to snug it up under the thread. Now with your right hand put tension on the bobbin, and cinch down the hackle by wrapping it a couple of times. Cut off the hackle, pull back on the hackle and post to clear the tie down area and do a whip finish.

[arjxh56]

Magic!
Thanks for the detailed answer. I will take some time to try what you describe and see how I get along.

[stevekale]

Charlie ties off at the hook eye not the post. Easy peasy and no trapped hackle fibres.

[burhan]

Originally Posted by silver creek

That is correct.

The hackle on a parachute fly does NOT represent the wings as it does on patterns with the hackle wound around the shank. So one can vary a bit. I've even seen patterns tied with clipped hackle and they don't look as pretty as non clipped but you can shorten longer hackle to use on smaller flies when you don't have the right size.

If you have flies with hackle that is a bit long, and the fish come up and look but do not take the fly, use an iris scissor to clip the hackle down. You can modify the post and even the tail fibers. I always carry a small pair if fine tipped iris scissors with me.

As a type of fly, there is a changing view of what the fish actually take this fly to be. My opinion is that it is not seen by most fish as a true dry fly of the sub-imago phase. Rather, it is seen as a form of emerger. See the article below, where my friend Gary Borger breaks emergence into stages and the parachute adams is placed into stage 3.

http://www.flyfisherman.com/content/film-flies




Notice that the Klinkhammer is placed into this same stage. These are what are called "suspender patterns" because the parachute hackle or other suspender material such as CDC is used to keep the fly in the film. In this theory of staging, the tail of a standard parachute is seen by the fish not as the tails of a dun but the trailing shuck.

As Gary says, you can't run with your pants down and a emerging fly cannot fly off while it's nymphal shuck is attached.

If you are a fan of the Klinkhammer, you can bend the shank of the hook and get a version of the Klinkhammer.

The other beauty of a parachute pattern is that you can cut off the post and you have an instant spinner pattern. So it can be fished during emergence, and during the spinner fall with a clip of a pair of iris scissors.

I wrote and article for out State Trout Unlimited newspaper. See pg. 23 in the publication below. Note that I have tied this parachute pattern with the hackle tied so that the fly will ride lower in the film to better imitate the stage 4 emerger. The 3rd photo is obviously incorrectly labelled. it isa Klinkhammer and you can see the similarity between photo 2 and 3. Cutting off the tail would give you a fly that will sink faster as the Klinkhammer is designed to do.:

http://www.wisconsintu.org/LinkClick...bid=58&mid=381

There are two methods that I use to tie off the hackle. The first is to tie it off on the bottom of the post, This gives you a lower riding fly and is the method I used on the flies in the article. It is demonstrated by Charlie Craven.

Charlie's FlyBox - Colorado's Best FlyShop and online Fly Tying Tutorials


If you want to tie it in behind the hook eye use this method.

Most fly tiers will make the final wrap of hackle around the post and then take the hackle to the front. Then they wrap the thread over the hackle to tie it in.

Try this instead. Take the tread to in front of the post and just in front of the dubbed thorax. It should be a couple of turns behind the eye to leave space for the whip finish. Let the bobbin hang down on the other side of the hook.

Now wrap the hackle down the post with your right hand, and for the final wrap, take the hackle under the bobbin and back over the hook. Now the hackle is under the thread and the weight of the bobbin will keep the hackle from unwinding!

Taking the hackle under the thread and bobbin keeps you from trapping the previously wrapped hackle fibers in the tie down.

Transfer the hackle from your right to your left hand and pull gently to snug it up under the thread. Now with your right hand put tension on the bobbin, and cinch down the hackle by wrapping it a couple of times. Cut off the hackle, pull back on the hackle and post to clear the tie down area and do a whip finish.

thanks s c. some great tips there.

burhan