Following on from Mark's article about a day on a Cornish river his good pal Zim has written up the recipe for the succesful fly they used. Thanks Zim!
The fly is a variant of the Adams tied in a parachute style. For the demo I have used a size 14 hook, but depending on your dexterity, I have found a size 16 and a size 18 very useful sizes. Hook choice is a matter of preference, I have used a barbless one, the fish in some of the Cornish streams don't get very big, so a barbless hook helps to slip them back quickly. Dubbing choice is also endless, I like a hares ear, this can be changed to almost anything, to suit local hatches or particular insects, keep it fine though, it helps to keep the body slimish. Post choice can also be varied, aero wing from Tiemco is my favourite and it is available in lots of colours, I use white, grey, black and hi vis pink, and these colours cover most light conditions.
Here we go....
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Fix your hook in the vice and tie in the thread, trim off waste end, build a small base to fold post material around.
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Tie in aero wing, you might need to split the aero wing down, in the smaller sizes the standard width will make your post too thick and the fly will be out of proportion. One the material is folded under the hook, catch it in and start to form a post base around the bottom of the aero wing, wrap your thread horizontally around the base of the aero wing.
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Select tail material, I use fibres from one, off of the larger feathers on the red game cape.
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Tie in the fibres and trim them to length. They should butt up against the back of your post.
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Prepare your hackles, one grizzle and one ginger/red game
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Tie them in together, and fold them upwards so they are pointing the same way as the post, wrap again horizontally working up the post, making sure you wrap around the two hackles and the base of aero wing, don't be afraid to make a good post, it helps with the winding of the hackles and makes for a stronger, more durable fly.
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Dub the body and try to keep it slim, I create a very tight noodle of hares ear, dub in front of the post too (thorax area) and finish the dubbing so that your thread is lying just behind the post. This is important, if the thread is not behind the post when you turn the hook in the vice any dubbing or thread wraps in from off the post will unravel.
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Wrap your hackles. I use the ring type hackle and catch both hackle tips and wrap them in together and work down the post. How sparse or how dense you tie the hackles is again up to you, three wraps is generally plenty. Catch in the hackles and trim them carefully underneath. I then whip finish the fly around the base of the post.
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Snip your thread off at this point and turn the hook back up to a normal position cut your post to length, however be careful when you cut the post to length, don't cut it too short. You want a decent enough post so you can see it, but not too long it makes the fly twist too much when you cast it.
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This fly can be tied in lots of different colours and sizes to imitate all sorts of things: black, olive and grey are all good. Vary the density of the hackles wrapped round the post for differing water types, heavier for heavier water and ultra sparse for the tricky smooth glides. There are other ways of tying parachutes but this seems to work best for me. It can be adapted to use on klinkhammers too. Oh, the thread, I use is sheer 14/0, great stuff and very strong for its diameter. Hope you enjoyed the step by step.
Tight Lines, Duncan