Parachute patterns are probably my favorite pattern to fish as the body rides low and the post makes them easy to see. My only problem is durability. It doesn't seem to matter If the fly is purchased ( I'm not my tier... Yet )at a local sporting goods store for a dozen for $10 or hand-tied at a local outfitter store at $3.50 a piece, the parachute always seems to come off at the front end and unwind- especially when I'm removing them from the mouth of a particularly feisty rainbow. Is there anything that I can do to purchased parachute flies before I fish them (a dab of head cement or super glue? A few extra winds thread?) that would help them stand up over time a little bit?
Ah - it's your hackle size and that parachute is always gonna come off. But I would be glad my fly getting a little abuse. And tell me some more about what you catch and where. Well please. : )
I live in the Bitterroot Valley (Montana), so I'm catching primarily Westslope cutthroats, cutt-bow hybrids, rainbows, browns and occasionally brook trout. There are a few lakes with small grayling. And of course mountain whitefish and pikeminnows on nymphs.
Yeah, if you watch Charlie Craven tying this pattern, you'll see that he ties the wing off differently (around the post, rather than at the head), and that at the end he applies a drop of head cement to the ends of the saddle hackle, letting it run down the barbules to where the wing wraps onto the post. That's how I tie it, and it seems to make the fly pretty durable.
@@davidemigliaccio5646 thanks! I've just watched his video and will give the extra drop of head cement a try at the end. As I said before, I'm still using commercially tied flies, but I don't see how this would hurt. At least I can experiment. Eventually I'll add fly-tying to my ever growing list of hobbies!
@@robertlynn7332 You're welcome! When you decide to join the ranks of tyers, start with Charlie's first book, Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying. Tie your way through that book, and you'll be well on your way. Charlie is, IMO, the best tyer on the planet. BTW, I've also learned a great deal from the AvidMax tyers, I love tying Tuesday. Also, don't do it to save money, do it because it's fun. Anyone who tells you he's saving money by tying his own flies is, ahem, probably trying to rationalize his habit. Anyway, I do it mostly because I enjoy it. As Charlie says, if all the trout died, I'd still tie.
So why did you go with the red & have you found it effective. I'd like to know because I write books about stuff that really works now. Being in the field - no. Now stick all those hair fibers into a tapered body for buoyancy -- or tell me why that ain't even gonna work. : )
Yo - throw this down on a long shank - light wire hook - unless they're king salmon - they shouldn't bend or break the hook. But I like what you are doing on RUclips. Well the body should be longer - you just have to look at the real insect. If you're tying well .. uh .. why make it on a commercial prefab hook. Well yum - those trout are gonna want it anyway. : )
Really enjoyed this lesson thank you sir
Parachute patterns are probably my favorite pattern to fish as the body rides low and the post makes them easy to see. My only problem is durability. It doesn't seem to matter If the fly is purchased ( I'm not my tier... Yet )at a local sporting goods store for a dozen for $10 or hand-tied at a local outfitter store at $3.50 a piece, the parachute always seems to come off at the front end and unwind- especially when I'm removing them from the mouth of a particularly feisty rainbow. Is there anything that I can do to purchased parachute flies before I fish them (a dab of head cement or super glue? A few extra winds thread?) that would help them stand up over time a little bit?
Ah - it's your hackle size and that parachute is always gonna come off. But I would be glad my fly getting a little abuse. And tell me some more about what you catch and where. Well please. : )
I live in the Bitterroot Valley (Montana), so I'm catching primarily Westslope cutthroats, cutt-bow hybrids, rainbows, browns and occasionally brook trout. There are a few lakes with small grayling. And of course mountain whitefish and pikeminnows on nymphs.
Yeah, if you watch Charlie Craven tying this pattern, you'll see that he ties the wing off differently (around the post, rather than at the head), and that at the end he applies a drop of head cement to the ends of the saddle hackle, letting it run down the barbules to where the wing wraps onto the post. That's how I tie it, and it seems to make the fly pretty durable.
@@davidemigliaccio5646 thanks! I've just watched his video and will give the extra drop of head cement a try at the end. As I said before, I'm still using commercially tied flies, but I don't see how this would hurt. At least I can experiment. Eventually I'll add fly-tying to my ever growing list of hobbies!
@@robertlynn7332 You're welcome! When you decide to join the ranks of tyers, start with Charlie's first book, Charlie Craven's Basic Fly Tying. Tie your way through that book, and you'll be well on your way. Charlie is, IMO, the best tyer on the planet. BTW, I've also learned a great deal from the AvidMax tyers, I love tying Tuesday. Also, don't do it to save money, do it because it's fun. Anyone who tells you he's saving money by tying his own flies is, ahem, probably trying to rationalize his habit. Anyway, I do it mostly because I enjoy it. As Charlie says, if all the trout died, I'd still tie.
So why did you go with the red & have you found it effective. I'd like to know because I write books about stuff that really works now. Being in the field - no. Now stick all those hair fibers into a tapered body for buoyancy -- or tell me why that ain't even gonna work. : )
Yo - throw this down on a long shank - light wire hook - unless they're king salmon - they shouldn't bend or break the hook. But I like what you are doing on RUclips. Well the body should be longer - you just have to look at the real insect. If you're tying well .. uh .. why make it on a commercial prefab hook. Well yum - those trout are gonna want it anyway. : )