Para posts (does size really matter)

[clip 0]

Recovering from some shoulder issues this summer I switched to a 3wt and dry flies, I may not go back . So now I have started tieing for next season and parachute flies are on my list, making the post hasn't been my problem but trying to figure out how thick(wide) to make them has. Is there a rule of thumb for different hook sizes? I'm using FTD Congo hair fibers (EP fibers) for the post because I have a lot and in different colors so I can adjust as needed.  Will a fatter post give better flotation or  Is thinner better.   Probably seems like a trivial question but before I tie up dozens I'd like to figure it out.

[flyflinger 0]

Posts are mostly about wing color and silhouette (for the fish), and visibility (to the angler).  Flotation mostly comes from the hackle, body material/treatment, and tails.   

 Regards,

 

[Heff2 0]

The one tip I saw for sizing it the parachute post clump should be similar in diameter to the hook eye.  The parachute does the flotation and the post just gives you something to build on and a something to see when on the water 

[LisaLou 0]

Thank you Heff2 great tip.

[clip 0]

The diameter of the hook eye is what I aimed for. Im planning  to do them assembly line style and do posts on all the hooks first and hit them with UV resin and didn't want to make a big mistake on size.  thanks for the help

[Gene L 0]

1 hour ago, Heff2 said:

The one tip I saw for sizing it the parachute post clump should be similar in diameter to the hook eye.  The parachute does the flotation and the post just gives you something to build on and a something to see when on the water 

Hook eye? Hook gap?  I think if the post is too big, it will dominate the fly.  

[Heff2 0]

I think I saw it in the FFI parachute Adam’s instructions.  You take the post material then twist it, that cylinder should be roughly the size of the hook eye.  

[Gene L 0]

That seems very small to me.

[clip 0]

I consider the hook eye to be outside edge to outside edge, the entire donut not just the hole, but that gets me closer considering my first few look like tree stumps 

[flytire 0]

then use that as your guide

[niveker 0]

I seldom tie them, but I would think Heff2's and Clip's suggestion is a reasonable starting point. 

 

[SilverCreek 0]

21 hours ago, clip said:

Recovering from some shoulder issues this summer I switched to a 3wt and dry flies, I may not go back . So now I have started tieing for next season and parachute flies are on my list, making the post hasn't been my problem but trying to figure out how thick(wide) to make them has. Is there a rule of thumb for different hook sizes? I'm using FTD Congo hair fibers (EP fibers) for the post because I have a lot and in different colors so I can adjust as needed.  Will a fatter post give better flotation or  Is thinner better.   Probably seems like a trivial question but before I tie up dozens I'd like to figure it out.

Height  of floatation of parachute fly depends on 3 main things:

1. The length of the hackle fibers

2. The way the hackle is wound around the post.

3. How the hackle is tied off.

Examine a dry fly hackle feather. You will see that it has a natural curve to the fibers and it has a shiny side and a dull side. The shiny side is convex and the dull side is concave.

When you decide to tie a parachute, you must decide whether you will tie the hackle so that the the tips of the fibers curve down toward the water and extend below the body of the fly (the fly will ride higher and the fly is supported on the tips of the fibers), or whether you will tie the hackle so that the tips of the fibers curve up away from the water (the fly will ride low with the body in the water and the fly supported by the shafts of the fibers, tips curving up and away from the water).

If you want the fly to ride low in the water, tie the hackle so that you rotate the hackle around the post, shine side down and dull side up, tips of the fibers curving away from the water.

If you want the body to ride higher, tie the the hackle so that you will rotate it around the post, shiny side up and dull side down, tips of the fibers curving down below the body of the fly.

You must also decide how to tie off the hackle and this will also determine whether the fly rides lower or higher.

To make the fly ride lower, tie the hackle off at the bottom of the post, below the last wind of hackle. Because the post tie off raises the hackle, the body will sink into the film.

To make the fly ride higher, wind the hackle as low on the post as you can and tie off behind the eye of the hook in traditional position. This lowers the hackle on the post and makes the body of the fly ride high on the film.

By combining these two techniques you can rotate the hackle shiny side down and tie off on the post to get a fly that has its body in the film; or rotate the hackle shiny side up and tie off behind the eye to get a fly that rides high on the film. 

 

You asked about the how "fat" the post should be. Anything that is ABOVE the water adds weight to the fly and makes the fly sink lower in the water. So a fatter post requires more material a fly with an overly fat post will ride lower in the water. 

[clip 0]

Thanks for the information silvercreek my goal with this fly is to get it deeper in the film and be able to us a dropper at times so max floatation is Important with a finger whip Finish I can tie off on the post also want to experiment with Flaglers idea of UV glue on the post and no whip finish.       good thing spring is a ways off up here i'll need the time.

[flytire 0]

[SilverCreek 0]

4 hours ago, clip said:

Thanks for the information silvercreek my goal with this fly is to get it deeper in the film and be able to us a dropper at times so max floatation is Important with a finger whip Finish I can tie off on the post also want to experiment with Flaglers idea of UV glue on the post and no whip finish.       good thing spring is a ways off up here i'll need the time.

You can't get the parachute dry fly to both sit deeper in the film and have max floatation using the same fly. If you find a way, let me know.

You need a different fly than a standard parachute. You need a Klinkhammer style of fly which is really an emerger pattern.

https://thefeatherbender.com/klinkhamer-fly-special/