Parachute dry flies

[jkilroy]

I have some issues with tying parachute dry flies. The very last part, finishing the head off, I don't know how to, not get the hackle tied in with the whip head finish. They really come out nice except that. Maybe it's the type of whip finish tool i'm using, it requires both hands.

 

[tomgamber]

I had the same problem and the answers I got were to use a hackle guard...or to tie off the fly at the post rather than the head.

 

[osprey]

jkilroy..........i've been tying since i was 5 , around 1962-63 and parachutes are one thing i've never been able to get right , i have a buddy who is good at it (i taught him at the beginning) and i trade him my catskills for parachutes , maybe you can trade someone for something that you do a good job on.

 

[FlySwatter]

JK,

I use 8/0 for most of the fly then whip finish before wrapping the hackle. I switch to 12/0 then wrap the hackle and whip finish around the post. Works for me every time.

This is where I found the technique: http://www.danica.com/flytier/hklinken/klinkhamer_special.htm

Good tying!

- Mike

 

[sundrunk]

tye off at post..Several wraps of dubbing, finish..

 

[dryflyguy]

That last step is a little tricky.
After I make my last turn of hackle, I let the hackle pliers dangle over the hook shank just behind the eye. Then carefully pinch the front part of the hackle between the thumb and forefinger of my left hand, and sweep it back out of the way. While holding it back, I bind down the hackle with 2 turns of thread, and snip it off just behind the eye. Then whip finish, before letting the hackle go back in place

 

[ryguyfi]

You can make a hackle guard, might help you out. Simple take a piece of cardboard, cut it into a circle about 2-3inches. Poke a hole in the center and cut a radius out from there. Then just slip it on your fly after you put th epost on. This will push the post back so you have room to finish your fly. Either do this, or learn to hand whip finish or just half hitch.

 

[mungerfish]

There's a pretty nice section in "Fly Tying With AK" on tying off parachutes without trapping hackle fibers. A little hard to describe but it works pretty well.

 

[osprey]

AK Best , his last name says it all , if there is anyone who has mastered the technique it is him , i'd go by just about anything he prescribes.

 

[osprey]

Let me ask a question of the room , do you tie in the hackle from the butt or the tip , do you secure hackle by tying up the post , and do you wrap with the barbules facing up , convex , or with the hackle barbules facing down , concave , shiney side/dull side? Just a little info , my friend who is good at 'chutes almost always uses z-lon or zing for the post sometimes antron.

 

[sandfly]

I just use a small thompson style of whip finisher. gets tight at the eye and doesn't catch the hackle.

 

[MKern]

I know when I first started tying parachutes I wrapped the hackle the wrong way. It made sense to wrap it that way at the time. I often trapped the fibers.

So make sure you are wrapping counter-clockwise so the fibers get brushed out of the way by the thread.

Like ry said, a hackle guard can help. I often use my fingers to brush the hackle back. My though is if it's not strong enough to take a little pressure with my fingers; how can it ever stand up to casting, let alone a fish.

If fibers get trapped, use a bodkin before you whip finish, but after the head is formed.

 

[dryflyguy]

I also wrap the hackle counter clockwise - looking down on the fly. And it does seem to help when binding it down

 

[MKern]

I know why now I used to wrap it clockwise...

because it seems to make sense to wrap the thread in the opposite direction as the hackle. But I used to catch a lot of fibers.

However, I tie all of my hackle counter-clockwise because of trapping less hackle and I have not noticed a difference in durability.

 

[gfen]

MKern wrote:
So make sure you are wrapping counter-clockwise so the fibers get brushed out of the way by the thread.

That's my answer.

 

[osprey]

Sandfly..........I love my little Thompson whip finisher but , i've not seen one in years in a shop , would you have one in stock?

 

[fritz]

I've tried the home-made hackle guard and finishing up on the post. Both work but best for me--I grab the post/hackle and just kind of pull it back out of the way--hold it in this postion and whip finish with the other hand. Then pull everything upright. It sounds dumb but it works for me.

 

[afishinado]

Charlie Craven has it down pat!

http://www.hatches.tv/play.php?vid=359

 

[FlySwatter]

afish,

Wow! That's impressive. Thanks for the link.

 

[jkilroy]

Like I said the only problem I have is the whip finish. I can tie size 18 no problem, and they look good. Not sure which way I wrap, I don't think it matters. And I tie the but section of the feather in and half hitch before doing the hackle. I refuse to not learn how to correct this problem. Is there a tool out there that only requires one hand for the whip finish?

Does the hackle guard go around the hook shank or the para. post?