Save all those hackles that are too short for
hackling a standard dry fly and put them in a
separate box labeled PARACHUTE HACKLE. It takes
only four or five complete turns of hackle to
hackle a parachute properly, but today's saddle
hackle is so good that you only need three or
four turns of hackle around the post. However,
I still make five turns when I use neck hackle.
There's no sense in clipping away nearly half a
hackle each time you hackle a parachute. After
the fifth or sixth turn of hackle, the fibers
will begin to point upward around the wing post,
and the resultant fly will look like just another
weed seed on the water. Use hackles that have
absolutely no web for hackling a parachute because
the webbed portion is soft and will not support
the fly on the surface. I like to save those
beautiful little hackles on the sides of the
neck for parachutes. The stems of these feathers
are much finer, the individual fibers are much
stiffer, and there is almost always no web. ~ A.K. Best
Credits: This tying tip is from
Production Fly Flying, Second
Edition by A.K. Best, published by Pruett
Publishing Company, Boulder, Colorado. We
appreciate use permission.
Please check out the Fly Tying Section, on the Bulletin Board, here at FAOL too.
If you have any questions, tips, or techniques; send them to
publisher@flyanglersonline.com
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