The Adams Dry Fly

[McFlyLures 0]

The Adams Catskill style dry fly is one of the most popular dry fly ever created.  Just about every freshwater fly shop in America has them for sale.  They mimic a mayfly, and this specific coloration of a catskill fly really tends to do the job great, for a number of different mayfly species.  Now of course you could take this tutorial and change out some colors like the hackle color, wing color, and dubbing color to make a different type of mayfly if you want.  While it wont be called an Adams anymore, it will work great for different species.  A few other colorations I have used in the past is black (to mimic a black drake or other darker mayflies). Olive body with gray wings/hackle (to mimic a blue wing olive) and so fourth.  

These are not the easiest style fly to tie, mostly due to the wings and now to get them in correctly and positioned just right.  However using the two different hackles as well comes with some challenges.  If you can find a Cree hackle, then this will be much easier and quicker to tie.  Also if you tie a more solid color catskill fly like a BWO or the Black Drake style I mentioned above, you can go with just one color hackle.  This will lower the time consumption in tying these great flies.  

Now as mentioned, these aren't the easiest flies to tie, therefor they are not what I consider a beginners fly.  Now that being said, you can give it a go if your just starting tying, but fair warning, you might end up tying a few (or more than a few) that will come out less than desirable.  So don't be discouraged.  If you already have a little skill in tying other dry flies, and manipulating dry fly hackle, then I am convinced you will do very well with this fly.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3PUC-l5uQ8

 

Materials
_____________
Hook:  Risen Barbless Dry Fly 100 (size 14)
Thread:  Veevus 10/0 (brown)
Tail:  Rooster Cape Fibers (brown and grizzly)
Body:  UV2 Fine and Dry (adams gray)
Wings:  Whiting Hen Saddle (grizzly)
Hackle:  Whiting Rooster Dry Fly Saddle (brown and grizzly)
Head Cement:  Loon Water Based Head Cement

[skeet3t 0]

Thanks for the story and recipe. It's one of the most popular flies. However, I have taken down the garden path to my own version, the Simple Simon. Simple as it uses: dry fly hook #12-18, thread, tail, dubbing, two or three wraps of hackle. It can be tied in any color to match the hatch. I tie it in yellow for the sulphur hatch. Tan has proven to be a color that has produced in several places. I leave off the wings as I'm not totally convinced fish can see the wings through the hackle. JMHO.

 

[SilverCreek 0]

5 hours ago, McFlyLures said:

The Adams Catskill style dry fly is one of the most, if not the most popular dry fly ever created.  Just about every freshwater fly shop in America has them for sale.  They mimic a mayfly, and this specific coloration of a catskill fly really tends to do the job great, for a number of different mayfly species.  Now of course you could take this tutorial and change out some colors like the hackle color, wing color, and dubbing color to make a different type of mayfly if you want.  While it wont be called an Adams anymore, it will work great for different species.  A few other colorations I have used in the past is black (to mimic a black drake or other darker mayflies). Olive body with gray wings/hackle (to mimic a blue wing olive) and so fourth.  

These are not the easiest style fly to tie, mostly due to the wings and now to get them in correctly and positioned just right.  However using the two different hackles as well comes with some challenges.  If you can find a Cree hackle, then this will be much easier and quicker to tie.  Also if you tie a more solid color catskill fly like a BWO or the Black Drake style I mentioned above, you can go with just one color hackle.  This will lower the time consumption in tying these great flies.  

Now as mentioned, these aren't the easiest flies to tie, therefor they are not what I consider a beginners fly.  Now that being said, you can give it a go if your just starting tying, but fair warning, you might end up tying a few (or more than a few) that will come out less than desirable.  So don't be discouraged.  If you already have a little skill in tying other dry flies, and manipulating dry fly hackle, then I am convinced you will do very well with this fly.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3PUC-l5uQ8

 

Materials
_____________
Hook:  Risen Barbless Dry Fly 100 (size 14)
Thread:  Veevus 10/0 (brown)
Tail:  Rooster Cape Fibers (brown and grizzly)
Body:  UV2 Fine and Dry (adams gray)
Wings:  Whiting Hen Saddle (grizzly)
Hackle:  Whiting Rooster Dry Fly Saddle (brown and grizzly)
Head Cement:  Loon Water Based Head Cement

Very nicely done.

The Parachute Adams is actually the most popular dry fly sold in the USA.

I notice that you also have a video of tying that fly as well.

[McFlyLures 0]

4 hours ago, SilverCreek said:

Very nicely done.

The Parachute Adams is actually the most popular dry fly sold in the USA.

I notice that you also have a video of tying that fly as well.

Hey thanks.  Yeah that’s correct the parachute is more popular.  Good catch.  This is right up there with it I think though.  And yeah I have a video of that one also, I think I said that was most popular also in that video.  Haha!  I think in general the Adams I meant is most popular but for sure. I should be more specific to the pattern itself.  I’ll change it, thanks for telling me.  

[SilverCreek 0]

I like the decision you made to wrap the hackle with the shiny side facing down and the dull side facing up. Also I like the decision to wrap the hackle off on the post.

I do mine that way NOT because it makes it easier finish on the post.

The reason is that the fly sits LOWER in the film when the hackle bend is facing up away from the waters surface AND when there are wraps below the hackle on the post which elevates the hackle even more.

Parachute flies do NOT imitate the dun as most fly fishers believe.

Gary Borger classifies the parachute as an emerger because the hackle that support the fly is ABOVE the fly body, and therefore. the body of a parachute fly is IN the film rather than ON the film as with a fully emerged dun. Therefore the parachute fly is an emerger.

In his book "Fishing the Film," Gary writes that the parachute fly imitates stage 3 of the 5 stages of emergence.

See this discussion:

https://www.theflyfishingforum.com/forums/index.php?threads/reading-fishing-the-film-by-gary-borger.135714/

Gary's Blog:

http://www.garyborger.com/2016/09/09/parachute-flies-stage-3-emerger/

[McFlyLures 0]

17 hours ago, skeet3t said:

Thanks for the story and recipe. It's one of the most popular flies. However, I have taken down the garden path to my own version, the Simple Simon. Simple as it uses: dry fly hook #12-18, thread, tail, dubbing, two or three wraps of hackle. It can be tied in any color to match the hatch. I tie it in yellow for the sulphur hatch. Tan has proven to be a color that has produced in several places. I leave off the wings as I'm not totally convinced fish can see the wings through the hackle. JMHO.

 

Yeah that’s a good one there, thanks for sharing 

[skeet3t 0]

1 hour ago, McFlyLures said:

Yeah that’s a good one there, thanks for sharing 

You are welcome. Not the best photo but working on getting better.

[flytire 0]

Michigan origin not Catskills

Adams Fly Pattern History - RiverKeeper Flies (johnkreft.com)

[SilverCreek 0]

26 minutes ago, flytire said:

Michigan origin not Catskills

Adams Fly Pattern History - RiverKeeper Flies (johnkreft.com)

I think McFlyLures reference to "Catskill Style Dry Fly" was referring to the upright Catskill style of hackling on the standard Adams dry.

https://www.flycastingacademy.com/blog/catskill-dry-flies

https://globalflyfisher.com/video/adams-dry-fly-catskill-style

https://diyflyfishing.com/video-how-to-tie-catskill-flies/

 

 

[McFlyLures 0]

11 hours ago, SilverCreek said:

I think McFlyLures reference to "Catskill Style Dry Fly" was referring to the upright Catskill style of hackling on the standard Adams dry.

https://www.flycastingacademy.com/blog/catskill-dry-flies

https://globalflyfisher.com/video/adams-dry-fly-catskill-style

https://diyflyfishing.com/video-how-to-tie-catskill-flies/

 

 

Yes, if I’m not mistaken, this style of dry fly is a Catskills style.  The adams itself might not have come from there as the colors used might have originated elsewhere.  But I’m pretty sure the style of fly is called the Catskills because it’s thought of coming from Catskills.  

[SilverCreek 0]

Here is a bit of history about the hackling of dry flies that I read quite a while ago,

Before genetic hackle, rooster hackle used to have a greater amount of curvature with a definite convex shiny side and a concave dull side. The English way of plamering dry fly hackle was with the dull concave side facing the rear of the fly so the hackle looked swept back.

From what I read the early US fly tyers, presumably from the Catskills, palmered the opposite way with the dull concave side of the hackle facing forward. The reason was that as the fly was casted, the dry fly hackle would be pushed back by aerodynamic drag and tilt backward.

So if the curvature of the hackle was already tilted back as with the English way of hackling, the hackle would tilt even more towards the rear of the fly when casted. However, if the hackle was palmered so the dull side faced the front of the fly, the hackle would be tilted forward and the hackle would straighten up when casted.

That is why I palmer my hackle dull concave side forward on Catskill Style dry flies.

[flytire 0]

well worth the read

[redietz 0]

On 4/15/2022 at 6:27 PM, flytire said:

Michigan origin not Catskills

True, but as tied originally in Michigan,  it had a golden pheasant tippet tail, with wings tied spent and in front of the hackle.   It wasn't until the Catskill tyers got hold of it that the tail became hackle fibers, and the wings moved back and tied upright.  The video does show a Catskill style Adams.