New design from Alan Shepherd

[revpara]

Here is a lovely design trick, developed by Alan Shepherd, a few years ago to imitate an ant.
The body was made of 50lb mono fixed across the hook shank with hackle wound around the base of the body for legs/float.

He has now incorporated the eyes/ant body
as a parachute post in my reversed parachute to be tested in Aus and NZ in the coming months.
Very neat application.



original thread on FlyLife forum..
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[Endrick]

A serious question. In What do you perceive as the practical advantages of the reverse hackle?

I played about with reverse hackle flies - conventional and parachute - not long after I started fly tying and I still have a good number of them in my storage boxes. They've been largely unused for many years. After using them for a while, mainly on the chalkstreams, I couldn't think how they were better than conventional patterns and as far as I could see had a couple of shortcomings: firstly the tail created an annoyance as it was across the eye and secondly I had the perception than the hook would be masked and the hackle in that position took more of a battering.

So I never tied them again. I still carry a few upside down conventional and reversed parachutes in my boxes as a change when the fishing gets really tough the idea of course is that keeping the hook free of the water might make a difference. They do tend to stay in the box however and I can only recall having used them once this season.

Malcolm

[roll cast]

Endrick on of the reasons I have heard for the hackle at the bend of the hook is that it allows you to use a slightly heavier hook as it directly supporting the heaviest part of the hook, the bend.

We'll have to wait for roy to come back and tell us the answer.

AL

[blithfield2]

There has been a recent brief discussion on reversed hackle flies. Gary(Bbamboo) supplied an excellent SBS for a highly praised Welsh fly.

More recently on the Flies for small rivers and streams thread, further reference is made.

There is some suggestion that it helps weed hook up, when fishing near weed beds.

[revpara]

As I see it these are the basic and crucial elements of my design and its advantages of presentation and effectiveness -

by virtue of its aerodynamics the reversed parachute fly always lands correctly and gently.

The design forces the tippet to sink on impact ensuring clean presentation. I use a slightly heavier tippet as it is unobtrusive, being sunk.

The fly imitates the insect at eclosion which is the most vulnerable point in the life cycle of any surface emerging insect; this stage and the spinner fall are most attractive to the fish. Crippled insects and terrestrials may be imitated in this manner.
The presentation is very similar also to a spent spinner, semi sunk.

The design provides a good footprint in the surface film and an excellent double image of the body as the fly hangs through the mirror under the surface. This gives a realistic prey image to surface feeding fish and a prominent one to fish deeper in the water as eg. in lakes or deep pools in rivers.

There is less drag on a sunken tippet than on a floating one, as the surface of the water is the fastest moving part of that body; this improves presentation, reduces drag.
The fly is easily absorbed as the tippet does not have to cut through the surface film when the fish inhales the fly.

The hackle opposite the hook point should help the point project toward a good hookset due to the set of the parachute.

The gape of the hook is totally unobstructed, nothing obscures the area between the hook point and the eye.


This fly, being hackled outside the gape opposite the barb, is fundamentally and totally diffferent to the Leckford Professor and the Barrett's Bane which are simple reversed dry flies. Perhaps effective in their own right, I have never tried either so cannot comment.
I have USD designs also but they are not part of this presentation.



Re ; your question on durability, the hackle will indeed take quite a battering, hence the technique I developed, where it does not matter if the hackle stem gets broken, it stays put.
The tails on the reversed parachute being over the eye are split by the tippet so they maintain natural poise.
If you find them obtrusive, turn the fly over, the other side of the eye is thus clear.

It is neither weedproof nor treeproof but if you can get it on the water it floats well and trout and grayling love it. You cannot have everything.
Hope that clarifies the questions to date

All the best
Roy Christie

[andypandy]

Hackle positioning aside i think its a really good looking fly...

Andy

[allanw]

Does the Hackle position result in more Hook ups
Going Back to my Mud pig Days moving the Balance point of the Hook works to effectivly increse the Gape and maybe this also works on the surface of the water too

[greenie58]

From a visual point of view hook ups look like they would be more difficult? it could just be the way it looks I suppose

[Endrick]

Thanks for that Revpara. I think that curved hook is a nice touch, it's what caught my eye when I saw it. Tme to look out the gallows tool and tie up a few.

Malcolm

[revpara]

Endrick,
here is a step-by-step on UKFlydressing
UKFlyDressing - Roy's Reverse Para

a good job there by Dennis.

If you tie a few up using that gallows tool, you will soon find that it is, in fact, obstructive.
The method shown in the SbS allows the construction without any special tools;
required- hook, thread, hackle, mono, dubbing(optional), scissors and a vice (also optional).

Give it a go, surprise a fish.


Roy