Parachute Tie Off?

[tocar]

So I just got done tying 2 dozen quill body parachutes (16-20's), and I tried a few different ways to tie off. The easiest quickly became the norm ;-). After winding the hackle downward, I take the thread above the shank around the post (Hi-Vis, in my case) clockwise and over the hackle, then once again under the hackle, returning under the hook eye to finish. It's quick, seems secure, and I can break off the hackle rather than trimming it.

Anyone like to share their prefered method and why?

peace-tony c.

 

[afishinado]

Hey Tony,

The way I learned to tie parachutes a long time ago was to tie the fly complete right down to finishing off the head, but without hackle. I remove the fly from the vise and reposition it 90* so the post is parallel and pointing out. I like to position the fly up to allow for more room to work on it. I tie in the hackle feather by the stem, wind the hackle down the post towards the body, take two turns of thread to lock-in the hackles and whip finish. It works well for me.

Rotating hackle pliers also work pretty well, but I find it easier to whip-finish with the fly parallel as above.

 

[Heritage-Angler]

Here's a visual (sort of). Scroll down to the pictures...

http://www.danica.com/flytier/hklinken/klinkhamer_special.htm

 

[afishinado]

That's it! Thanks for the pics Ed.

One thing, while it's not a big deal, I like to position my fly up rather than down. I have more room to work, and rest my hand on the top of the vise when positioning and tying in the hackle feather.

 

[sniperfreak223]

I just use three to five turns of thread over the hackle feather at the base of the post, in the same direction I wrapped the hackle, to snug up the hackle wraps. I then simply whip-finish behind the hook eye. Works well enough for me.

 

[MKern]

I tie mine off on the shank.

I never got the hang of turning the fly in the vise and tying off on the post.

I've rarely had a fish pull the hackle off this way. I think good thread and material control is key though.

Plus if a fish does bite/pull the hackle off, just retie hackle.

 

[afishinado]

MKern wrote:
I tie mine off on the shank.

I never got the hang of turning the fly in the vise and tying off on the post.

I've rarely had a fish pull the hackle off this way. I think good thread and material control is key though.

Plus if a fish does bite/pull the hackle off, just retie hackle.

Yup. As with most things in FFing and tying, a lot of ways to get the job done.

Just FYI, I find that when the hackle is whip finished on the post rather than on the thorax or head of the fly, the whip finish knot is is less likely to come loose or be cut because it is protected by the hackle when tied at the base of the post.

 

[tocar]

Tom, that's basically the same technique I'm using, but without adjusting the fly in the vise, and I can still do a varnish whip finish at the head (ala sniperfreak). Saves a little time.

peace-tony c.

 

[SBecker]

Do all of you wrap you hackle counter clockwise around the post? This was a tip, that I just learned.

 

[tocar]

I wrap clockwise because the thread (using my technique mentioned above) binds down the hackle better. With counterclockwise, the hackle has a tendency to slip.

peace-tony c.

 

[SBecker]

If you wrap counter clockwise though the barbs will not get stuck under the thread, because the way the barbs are pointing.

 

[MKern]

Counter-clockwise for me.

When I first started tying (self taught) I wrapped clockwise and would have to pick out hackle with the bodkin.

Counter-clockwise pushed a lot of the hackle out of the way.