THAT'S WHY YOU SHOULD TIE A PARACHUTE FLY
At first sight tying a parachute fly can seem daunting if you are an inexperienced fly tyer. But we are very confident that with this fly-tying tutorial you will get good results right away. This fly-tying technique is used in the construction of dry flies because it increases their buoyancy and makes them very stable on the water. Learning how to tie a parachute fly is essential if you are a fan of dry fly fishing with your own fly patterns. This tying technique is part of the basics that every fly tyer should know because it will allow you to make really catchy dry fly patterns.
VIDEO TUTORIAL: TYING A PARACHUTE FLY
WHAT IS A PARACHUTE FLY?
The name Parachute refers to the characteristic positioning of the hackle feather. The cock hackle is not wrapped around the hook shank but parallel to it, creating a sort of crown, or rather 'parachute' that rests on the surface of the water. Tying in the cock’s hackle this way allows the artificial fly to float very well and also keeps it in an upright position all the time, with the hook sitting below the water surface and the rest of the flies’ dressing above the water surface. Generally, fly tying materials in striking colours are used to tie the wings because they make it much easier for the angler to spot and follow the drift of the fly while fishing.
Parachute fly lateral view
Trout's view of a parachute fly. The hackle imitates the tiny legs of an insect and makes for an extremely catchy fly pattern
If we haven't convinced you yet to build your first parachute fly, don't worry, we have a huge amount of different parachute fly patterns ready to fish! Visit our online shop and find the right parachute fly for the type of water you are fishing.
FLY TYING TUTORIAL OF A PARACHUTE FLY
Let's see the entire fly-tying process step-by-step as well as all the materials and tools needed to tie a parachute fly:
Clamp the fly hook securely to the fly tying vise
Tie in the fibres for the tail, leaving them protruding at least half the length of the hook
Tie in the copper wire
Tie in 4 to 5 fibres of a pheasant tail feather
Wrap the pheasant tail fibres forward to create the body
Secure the pheasant tail fibres by wrapping the copper wire around. This also imitates the segments of the real insects' abdomen
Tie in a piece of antron yarn of about 6cm fixing it at half. This way you should have an upright tuft, often called post, of about 3cm
Fix a cock hackle by the shaft
Place a foam strip at least 4 cm long, folding it around the hook shank behind the hook eye
Hold all materials in position with your fingers
Make a few horizontal turns with the tying thread to fix the foam stripe
Turn around the cock hackle in the same way holding it with a hackle plier
Tie off using a conical knot finisher tool in order not to jam the fine hackle fibres
Cut off the sporging foam as well as trim the tuft/post
FLY TYING MATERIAL FOR THE PARACHUTE FLY
Below is a list of the fly-tying materials we used to make this dressing. Please note that the foam is not strictly necessary but is certainly very useful to increase the buoyancy of the parachute fly in case you are fishing in medium/fast waters.
Click on the name of the product you need to display it in our shop:
FLY TYING MATERIALS
- Fly hook
- Fly tying thread
- Barred tails
- Copper wire
- Pheasant tail feather
- Antron yarn
- Cock hackles
- Foam
FLY TYING TOOLS
Among the useful tools for tying this type of fly pattern there is an accessory that is not essential but greatly facilitates the most delicate phase, namely the wrapping of the cock hackle around the post. It is sold separately with almost all professional fly-tying vises and is a parachute rest that allows you to keep the post under tension while you wrap the cock hackle around them.
Both Cottarelli and Stonfo fly-tying vises offer this accessory and you can find them both in our online fly fishing shop.
Parachute rest Cottarelli
Parachute rest Stonfo
If you are completely new to the world of fly tying and you would like to buy your first fly-tying equipment, we recommend our fly-tying kits. They are complete, professional and have everything you need to get started.
