First parachutes

First parachutes: Purple Haze

Attachment 15374Attachment 15375

These weren't as hard as I thought they would be. Just took my time and concentrated.
Please feel free to critique.
thanks,
George

Nice, I still have to master the parachute!
Mike

The Parachute Purple Haze is one of my favorite flies to tie ad fish. Good job! How are you tying off your hackle?

jcampbell:
On these I used super glue, I have since learned of tying the hackles to the post, wrap hackles from top to botton, then tie in at bottom of post.
I'm just not sure super glue would hold once trout get ahold of the fly.

nicely tied

here is another tip

https://i.imgur.com/rzPuQnH.jpg

As you probably know, there are many videos out there demonstrating tie off methods. The Orvis guy even whip finishes his tie off at the bottom of the post. I have not mastered that one yet. Others tie off at the eye by holding the wrapped hackle back in the process (not pretty but it works). I think I have tried them all, but still use a dab of super glue at the base. I hope others will chime in here and give their preferred methods. BTW I have not had any unravel.

Norm,
I've used that method too. However, once you tie the hackle to the post you need to dub the thorax and things can get a little messy at the bottom if you are not real careful. I like the concept thou. Just need to get better at it.

Nice Ties, thanks for sharing!

I tie my parachutes off on the post. I little tricky to learn - at first I would reposition the hook so the post was horizontal (hook eye pointing down) to make the whip finish feel more natural. I eventually got comfortable whip finishing with the fly positioned normally. Wrap the hackle clockwise around the post, and the finer the thread the better the result. With 8/0 thread I use generally use a 3 turn whip and I've never had a problem with the fly unraveling.

Cliff

Thanks for the tips, all! Looks like I have some more practice ahead of me.
This was a fun tie for me.

I haven't tied a traditional parachute style fly for years.

In 2011, I started using the 90 degree hackling technique, aka 9dh. The best description of this technique in the the FOTW archives, at 10-22-12, for the pt mde 9dh.

Best I can tell, this is my unique contribution to the universe of fly tying. Having seen hundreds of fly tying demonstrations, live and online, and having talked to fly tiers with collectively hundreds of years experience in fly tying, I have yet to run across anyone who has used this technique. For example, this past summer I talked to a 70s something year old fly angler who has been fly tying for 50 years and has attended and demo'd at fly tying exhibitions across the West who had never seen this technique. When I handed him a pt mde 9dh to use as a model if he wanted to try the technique, he expressed his amazement, along with his gratitude.

The 9dh technique simplifies tying off the parachute hackle, and adds a "leggy" effect at the front of the fly, which I believe enhances most any fly.

John

Additional note - since submitting the FOTW article, I've gone to a light yellow antron post for better visibility on the crick I fish, and have stopped trimming the hackle underneath the shank. I've also found that for some hatches, sizing up from the original size 16 hook makes a difference to the fishies.:shock:

John S,
Interesting technique. I read that article some years ago, never tried it, but will. It's not real pretty, some may say, but should be very effective on the stream as you indicate. I'll give it a try this winter. Thanks

Thanks for the reminder John. Forgot about this so now have it bookmarked.

Rick

Norm, nice tip, thanks for this!