Adams vs Parachute Adams

[Baron]

Which is your favorite? What color and size do you recommend? Calf or poly wing?

 

[Steeltrap]

I use either calf or poly. They are both easy to use. I tie size 12 down to size 22.

 

[Baron]

I was thinking 12 and 14 or 14 and 16. I can't see much smaller. thanks

 

[troutbert]

Both parachute and standard are good.

If I had to choose, I'd pick parachute.

The original body color (gray) is good, but I think tan is better.

The Yellow Adams is a very good pattern. Yellow body, and replace the ginger hackle with light ginger.

I use 14 and 16 the most.

 

[Baron]

Thanks.
Yellow and light Ginger. I'm tying for Wyoming. Yellow anything is good there in early July. Then once back home they'll be good for panfish regardless of the color.
14-16.

 

[afishinado]

Baron wrote:
Thanks.
Yellow and light Ginger. I'm tying for Wyoming. Yellow anything is good there in early July. Then once back home they'll be good for panfish regardless of the color.
14-16.

I'm not huge on attractor patterns, but on a recent trip out-west, the trout were very partial to the Purple Haze pattern.

There were times that's all they would take on top. :roll:

It's an Adams tied with a purple body.

You may want to tie some of those for your trip out-west.

Good luck.

BTW, I tie a few Catskill patterns but more Parachutes. And don't forget about Comparaduns patterns, they are easy to tie, float really well, no need to buy expensive dry fly hackle, and the fish love them.

 

[Baron]

Yes this is prominently mentioned in articles and recommendations. Easy to add.

 

[Tiogadog]

This one:

 

[MKern]

I prefer parachute for most of my dries. I use both poly or calf, but think I prefer poly. I usually don't go smaller than 14.

I tie another generic mayfly parachute that seems to do the trick:
dun tails
light tan body
dun post
dun hackle

Sometimes I switch it up and swap the tail and hackle for a light ginger color.

 

[Baron]

Thanks for the two tutorials. I have calf and really like using it but Mcflylon may offer other good uses as well so I’ll pick some up. It seems that purple, for whatever reason is pretty hot in the Rockies and Wasatch. Also anything tan, yellow, ginger, hese seem standard out there.
I appreciate the help and will show you some progress soon.

 

[kobalt335]

afishinado wrote:

BTW, I tie a few Catskill patterns but more Parachutes. And don't forget about Comparaduns patterns, they are easy to tie, float really well, no need to buy expensive dry fly hackle, and the fish love them.

I fish and tie mainly comparaduns and parachutes. They are just much easier to tie than a Catskill pattern, and IMHO fish better. For my parachutes I use poly yarn in multiple colors.

I usually use traditional colored adams, although sometimes I'll use an odd color.

 

[Tiogadog]

I tie mine similar to the Charlie Craven tutorial I posted above. I find it easier and faster to tie the abdomen with a biot. The key is to find the natural Canada goose biots ... but they are getting pretty tough to find. Nature's Spirit has stopped selling them.

 

[RLeep2]

If I were going out west to fish, I'd tie parachutes in preference to the conventional Adams. I'd also use white (or any color you can see actually..) 2mm craft foam for the posts. Adds a little bit of extra floatation and (to me anyway..) is more visible than hair or poly. Just cut a narrow (1/8" or so) strip of foam and make posts out of it.

I'd also tie the exact same fly with a hares ear rather than a muskrat body. One is as good as the other and both are better yet..

 

[tomgamber]

If you are fishing any high altitude lakes, one variation I had a lot of luck with is the tent wing Adams. Taught to me by a Grizzly biologist, of all thing. It lets the tail hang a little lower in the film while still riding pretty high and like a caddis you can skitter it a little without drowning it.

 

[Baron]

Nice variation of Caddis. looks easier to tie as well. What Bluegill pattern that would make as well.
I'm assuming you would recommend size 14-20 or so?

 

[jifigz]

I tie basically all of my dries (excluding caddis, etc) in the parachute style. I do things a little differently as I use grizzly hackle on basically all of my dries and don't notice any difference at all between effectiveness. I really don't think it matters much.

So, anyways, I used microfibbet tails, superfine dubbed bodies (except on smaller flies I just use a thread body) a poly yarn post and grizzly hackle. Very easy, effective patterns to tie, just vary size and color for what you need. I generally tie my dries as needed per season and don't keep a big selection on me at all times like I do nymphs.

I've never tied an "adams" so to speak. Sure, a grey bodied parachute with a white post and a grizzly hackle....but that isn't exactly an adams, now is it?

Maybe that was helpful, and maybe not. I do tie wulff styles as well and use the calf body hair for that.

 

[tomgamber]

jifigz wrote:
I tie basically all of my dries (excluding caddis, etc) in the parachute style. I do things a little differently as I use grizzly hackle on basically all of my dries and don't notice any difference at all between effectiveness. I really don't think it matters much.

So, anyways, I used microfibbet tails, superfine dubbed bodies (except on smaller flies I just use a thread body) a poly yarn post and grizzly hackle. Very easy, effective patterns to tie, just vary size and color for what you need. I generally tie my dries as needed per season and don't keep a big selection on me at all times like I do nymphs.

I've never tied an "adams" so to speak. Sure, a grey bodied parachute with a white post and a grizzly hackle....but that isn't exactly an adams, now is it?

Maybe that was helpful, and maybe not. I do tie wulff styles as well and use the calf body hair for that.

I had a very similar approach in my 20's. I tied all my dries with grizzly as well. Its all I had for a while. And necks in Idaho were not cheap. There was also no such thing as the internet.

I basically tied and Adams-looking fly in in gray, olive, brown, yellow and black in about a 12 to an 18. Did pretty much the same thing with nymphs but they were all various colors of hare's ear-looking nymphs.

Wild, unpressured fish gave me no fits. If something specific was expected I tied with a good friend who was very knowledgeable and had lots of materials. Before I left Idaho I did the same for another friend who was just learning to tie.

 

[Baron]

All helpful. I don't have the Biots and so I use purple or yellow thread. They look fishable, sort of.
Leapster nailed it in that white, tan and light yellow are the June/July colors. Sometimes a fleck of red is seen here of there. Since I can't even tie the original properly yet I don't wan to take deviations yet.....I do that too much.
Thanks
Here's an image of my best effort taken with my worst camera:

tomgamber wrote:

jifigz wrote:
I tie basically all of my dries (excluding caddis, etc) in the parachute style. I do things a little differently as I use grizzly hackle on basically all of my dries and don't notice any difference at all between effectiveness. I really don't think it matters much.

So, anyways, I used microfibbet tails, superfine dubbed bodies (except on smaller flies I just use a thread body) a poly yarn post and grizzly hackle. Very easy, effective patterns to tie, just vary size and color for what you need. I generally tie my dries as needed per season and don't keep a big selection on me at all times like I do nymphs.

I've never tied an "adams" so to speak. Sure, a grey bodied parachute with a white post and a grizzly hackle....but that isn't exactly an adams, now is it?

Maybe that was helpful, and maybe not. I do tie wulff styles as well and use the calf body hair for that.

I had a very similar approach in my 20's. I tied all my dries with grizzly as well. Its all I had for a while. And necks in Idaho were not cheap. There was also no such thing as the internet.

I basically tied and Adams-looking fly in in gray, olive, brown, yellow and black in about a 12 to an 18. Did pretty much the same thing with nymphs but they were all various colors of hare's ear-looking nymphs.

Wild, unpressured fish gave me no fits. If something specific was expected I tied with a good friend who was very knowledgeable and had lots of materials. Before I left Idaho I did the same for another friend who was just learning to tie.

 

[poopdeck]

Nice! Way better than the first three.

 

[Baron]

loooonnngg way to go. thanks