Modern Flies

[DaveS]

^ THIS!

I'll bet I can tie 3-4 sparkle duns in the time it takes to spin up a traditional Catskill Dry. There only so many hours in a day...

And no pricy hackles to grade and sort and size.

 

[wbranch]

Am I the last to get the word on the passing of the Classic Catskill Fly?

Well I sincerely doubt you are the last to get the word on passing of the classic Catskill dry fly. They are far from dead, although I haven't fished a traditional fully hackled, winged, Catskill dry in decades, I still think they have their place on many waters and will continue to catch untold numbers of trout across this country. So if you enjoy tying and fishing them then have at it and go tie up a couple of dozen.

I still like to throw a big bushy Grey Fox Variant in May on swift broken water and see a nice rainbow come up and inhale it.

 

[JeffK]

One year I only fished tan sparkle duns and parachute Cahills (in different sizes of course) in late season and did as well as I usually do. I think pattern is less important as well.

One thing I will say for hackled flies is that I can often see them better. My spinners have wound hackle wings and my little olives do as well. They work better because I can follow the drift easier. Flat wings and tiny CDC flies can get lost. They work too, but the light and distance has to be right for me to follow them. Presentation triumphs over pattern IMHO, and I can't present as well if I can't see the fly.

 

[LongLineRelease]

I rarely use hackled dry flies. Primarily because hackle was too expensive to buy when I started tying and I still feel it is not a good investment for me. I especially feel this way since the saddle hackle fashion craze occurred, and the hackle supplier sold out their bread and butter market for higher profits.

The second reason is no-hackles of various sorts have significantly outfished hackled dries for me. The think flies sit on the water more like a natural and give the proper light pattern. They are also so much easier and faster to tie. CDC on flies has a ton of natural movement and this is very important in mimicking the frequently moving, wiggling, fluttering naturals.

The third reason I like these flies is my own philosophy about fly selection: I want my flies to look as much like the natural and as DIFFERENT AS POSSIBLE from what everyone else is fishing. I honestly believe trout become wary of standard patterns that are popularly fished by many anglers.

This being said, I believe the Catskill Dry has a definite place. To me nothing floats as well or as visible in rough water as a traditional hackled dry. I also think they have great value in fishing hatches with lots of actively moving dries, like the green drake.

 

[troutbert]

Heavily hackled Catskill flies work very well on freestone streams when the water is up.

And you can go for even MORE hackle, by using Stimulators when the water is up.

 

[pcray1231]

Generally speaking, parachutes, comparaduns, and CDC type flies float lower. Body in water.

Catskill ties sit higher and tend to move and "dance" a bit on the water (unassociated with drag).

I use all of the above. Which is better? Depends on the fish that day.

This is just a theory, but I tend to believe the lower sitting "modern" flies work better when fish are taking emergers. The higher floating ones work better when fish are taking duns, and they seem to key on movement.

Back in the old days, I think there was more of a tendency to use catskill ties as dun imitations, as well as emerger patterns for emergers. In more modern times, the popularity of the low sitting dries has increased and represents a more "jack of all trades" approach. i.e. a comparadun or parachute works ok for both duns and emergers most of the time. But if you get really picky fish maybe you'd be better off with the emerger/catskill choice.

 

[troutbert]

Does anyone know anything about the history of parachute patterns?

When, where, who, etc.?

 

[NewSal]

pcray1231 wrote:
Generally speaking, parachutes, comparaduns, and CDC type flies float lower. Body in water.

Catskill ties sit higher and tend to move and "dance" a bit on the water (unassociated with drag).

If you put a catskill style, and a parachute style into a glass of water you'll be surprised to see that the catskill body actually sits lower in the water. At least that's what happened to me each time I tried. I know this is a controlled environment and may not be what actually happens on the stream, but it is interesting regardless.

 

[afishinado]

troutbert wrote:
Does anyone know anything about the history of parachute patterns?

When, where, who, etc.?

Google it:

1931 / Detroit, MI / William Brush / it was called a "Gyro" fly and Brush patented hooks for tying parachutes.

https://books.google.com/books?id=aZIgDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT270&lpg=PT270&dq=Parachute+fly+history+gyro+fly&source=bl&ots=pQAMNT6VZe&sig=pNO-3dEKsQxhUBvVVlrczhdkBtA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj47dzB3KjQAhVk0YMKHR6RDsMQ6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q=Parachute%20fly%20history%20gyro%20fly&f=false

(From the thread title "Modern flies") If 1931 is "modern"....you must be pretty old...

I "discovered" parachute patterns on one of my first trips out-west (Montana) in the late 80's. The guide fished with was a fly tyer for Blue Ribbon flies and taught me how to tie them. They were killer out there.

I brought them back to PA and fished them for years before many other anglers "caught on" to parachute ties.

I have luck fishing them when there are duns, spinners as well as emergers on the water. I often cut short the post to imitate spinners. You can fish them as emergers with a short post to look like an emerging wing and add a zlon or antron shuck, but most times I just clip off the tail off so the fly rides butt down and shorten the post.