 |
| Fly recipe Hook: 3X Streamer Hook (Dai Riki # 710) Thread: Tan 6/0 Uni Thread Rib: Tan Mono Cord Overbody: Tan Foam Body: Tan Hares Ear Dubbing Underwing: Grey CDC Wing: India Hen Back with Head Cement Post: Pink Poly Yarn Hackle: 1 Brown & 1 Grizzly Hackle Legs: Brown Live Rubberlegs Head: Hares Ear Dubbing Tying instructions: Step 1: Insert the hook into the vise and attach the thread to the hook. Wrap the thread to the rear of the hook and cut off a piece of tan mono cord. Tie in the Mono cord at the rear of the hook to use as a rib on the fly. Step 2: Cut a piece of tan foam about 3/16 of an inch in width and attach it to the rear of the hook. This piece of foam will be tied forward over the body of the fly to add boyancy which will make the fly float very well. Secure the foam to the hook so that the most of the foam hangs off the back of the hook. We will pull this forward once the body has been dubbed with dubbing Step 3: Once the foam is in place make a dubbing noodle on your thread and dub the body of the fly. You will want to form a slightly tapered body that looks much like a cigar. You will want to dub a little more than half way up the hook shank to form the body. Step 4: Cut a small piece of poly yarn and tie it on using a fiqure eight style wrap to secure the poly yarn to the top of the hook. Once the poly yarn is secure to the hook twist it around so that it lays on the bottom side of the hook shank. Once the Poly yarn is on the bottom end of the hook shank pull both ends up and around the hook shank. Form a small ramp of thread in front of and behing the poly yarn so that it stands straight up in the air. Now wrap your thread off the hook shank and around the poly yarn to form a post to wrap the hackle around the parachute. This is a standard way of making a parachute post, if you have questions please refer to a tyers manual for instructions. Step 5: Once the parachute post is formed pull the foam forward and tie it off just behind the parachute post. Step 6: Grab your tan mono cord and make even wraps up the body to help secure the foam in place and add segments to the body of the fly. Tie off the mono cord once you get to the parachute post. Step 7: Select two or three pieces of CDC feather and lay them over the top of the fly to form the underwing on the body. I personally am not a huge fan of CDC and skip this step when I tie this fly for myself. You can choose to add it to the fly or leave it off completely. Step 8: The wing is made by taking a feather off of an India Hen back and applying either head cement or pliobond to the feather. Pull the feather through your fingers and it will hold all the feather fibers together. I like to do a couple of dozen of these in advance since it can be a little messy and you will want them to be dry before you tie with them. Once you have the feather prepared tie it on over the underwing to form the wing. Step 9: Once the wings are secure make another dubbing noodle on your thread and cover over the wings and form a layer of dubbing that is slightly larger than the body. Wrap the dubbing up to the rear of the parachute post and stop. Step 10: Tie in both of your hackle fibers right next to the base of the parachute post and secure them in place. Step 11: Grab some more dubbing and make another dubbing noodle on your thread. Wrap the dubbing forward to the eye to form a head that is the same size as the dubbing behind the parachute post. I like to wrap the dubbing forward to the eye and then come back over the top of the first layer of dubbing. Once you get back to the parachute post from the eye you will want to attach one rubberleg on each side of the hook. Once the rubberlegs are in place grab the front facing ends and pull them back out of the way. Bring the dubbing back to the eye and remove any excess dubbing from the thread. Step 12: Once you have a nice flat base for the head of the fly grab your hackle fibers and wrap them on the parachute post. I prefer to get the hackle to the top of the post right away and then make each subseguent wrap under the previous one. Work the hackle to the base of the head and then pull the fibers forward against the eye of the hook and tie off the hackle with your thread. Step 13: After you have tied off the hackles trim off the excess material and pull any of the hackle fibers out of the way. Make a clean head on the fly and whip finish to secure the last portion of the fly. Trim off the thread and apply a drop of head cement to make a durable fly. Notes: This is a hopper pattern tied by Dave Bloom who is from Montana. This is an adaptation of the good old parachute hopper that is a very productive pattern. The addition of the foam on the back of the fly helps make this fly float much better than the original parachute hopper. This is a great early season hopper pattern that also does a great job of mimicing the "Midnight Stones" that hatch on the Yellowstone in Late July and Early August. |
