FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, Al avoided commercial orders for parachute dry flies tied on hooks smaller than size 18. Why? Because he hated customer complaints about hackle-clogged hook eyes; he knew this problem was more common on smaller flies.

When we got married, we spent three months living in the back of our pickup, traveling and fishing anywhere we wished. When we needed money to get another tank of gas, we would tie an order of flies. We were “stream people.” One gas-tank order was for 20 dozen size 22 Parachute Adams. We spent two days sitting on the banks of the Gallatin River figuring out how to tie those little parachutes without clogging the hook eyes. The solution was quite simple.

Our technique changes the location on the fly where you tie off the hackle. Construct the parachute body so it ends with the thread behind the wing post rather than at the hook eye. Wrap the hackle, tie it off at the bottom of the post, and trim. Pull the thread forward to the hook eye, and tie off the thread using a knot-tying tool. (Note: We used a marker on the thread to better illustrate its relationship with the materials.)

 

Tip 7: Peacock Chenille

PEACOCK HERL IS VERY ATTRACTIVE to many fish. The problem is that after catching a fish or two, you might have to retire the fly; peacock herl doesn't stand up to much abuse. But making a durable peacock body is really simple.

Tie several peacock herls to the hook by their tips. Form a dubbing loop about as long as the herls. Capture the thread and herls with a clubbing-loop tool. Pull the loop tight and rotate the tool. The chenille appears starting at the hook.

(Caution: The loop and herl will grow slightly shorter as you rotate the tool. Allow it to do so, or the herl will break under the tension.)

Wrap the chenille around the hook to form a durable peacock-herl body.

 

 

Tip 8: Smooth Dry-Fly Bodies

SOME FLY TIERS HAVE DIFFICULTY blending the butt ends of the wings and tails on hair-wing dry flies so they can tie smooth bodies. You might think it doesn't make any difference because you can cover up the transition point with dubbing, and you'd be right — for a while. But the disguise lasts only as long as the fly is dry; when the dubbing gets wet, it reveals the dirty little secret under it.

Blending the butt ends of the wings and tail is really very easy, and you'll create a level platform for tying a smooth body. It's all in how you hold the scissors. If you cut the excess wing material off with the scissors straight up and down, there is no amount of dubbing, thread, or other materials that will hide the resulting bump.

If, on the other hand, you lay the scissors flat along the shank while holding the waste hair ends up at a 45-degree angle, the resulting cut tapers toward the tail. The angle on this cut provides a much smoother transition and a better looking body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tip 9: Correct Wing Length

FOR YEARS WE STRUGGLED with the length of the wings on our hair-wing dry flies. Gretchen tended to get hers too short, and Al was all over the scale. Then we stumbled on a really easy fix using a spare hook as a gauge. This solution was lying in front of us for years.

Select, clean, and stack a clump of hair for the wings. Tie it to the hook shank on the near side so it is much longer than needed; use snug but not tight thread wraps. Mount a spare hook in an electronics test clip or hackle pliers to use as a measuring gauge. Pull back on the wing until enough hair has slipped out from under the thread wraps to equal the length of shank. The wing fibers are now the correct length. Next, tighten the thread wraps to pull the wing into position on top of the shank.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tip 10: Looped Wonder Wings

THESE GORGEOUS WINGS require a material many fly tiers have in excess: the large feathers from the ends of rooster capes.

The first photograph shows the Wonder Wing in its original form with the feather stems tied to the hook shank. It has a beautiful profile with one major problem: the stiff stems in the wings cause the leader to twist during casting. We discovered that removing a section of the stem next to the hook shank solves the problem, but this cut other fibers unintentionally. We needed a better way.

The light bulb went off one afternoon. All we had to do was sweep the fibers back on a length of stem shorter than the intended wing. Next, we tied the feathers on the hook shorter than the final wing using snug — but not tight — wraps of thread. We then pulled the feathers out from under the thread to the proper length and tightened the thread. Looped Wonder Wings! It's just that easy.