2nd attempt on rusty parachute

[john1962 0]

#16 hook

Tail brown hackle

140 danier black thread

Rusty brown super fine dubbing

Post white Akron yard, brown neck hackle

My best effort so far

What do you think?

Tightlines

 

[Poopdeck 0]

Better indeed. Tail a little long but nice 2nd.

[SilverCreek 0]

When you google "rusty mayfly patterns" you will find that they are rusty spinner (mayfly imago stage) patterns.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rusty+mayfly+patterns+for+trout&sca_esv=d1dc203dc5631f05&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-qI75aBYBGXYkgogg78Z7fx2PAmg%3A1711804360760&source=hp&ei=yA8IZpyELL7E0PEP7ZqxmAw&iflsig=ANes7DEAAAAAZggd2FhW0hDU2UrQN18y3YcPU5G80oko&oq=rus&gs_lp=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&sclient=gws-wiz#ip=1

Spinners have thin bodies so I would use less dubbing.

Trout will take a parachute as a spinner but if they do not clip the front and rear hackle so they form "cross" shape of an imago stage "spent" spinner on the water surface.

 

An even easier spinner pattern is to tie a Catskill variant dry fly and trim off the top and bottom and the fly will be a spinner pattern.

 

There are no "rusty" brown subimago stage mayflies that I know of.

 

[john1962 0]

1 hour ago, SilverCreek said:

When you google "rusty mayfly patterns" you will find that they are rusty spinner (mayfly imago stage) patterns.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rusty+mayfly+patterns+for+trout&sca_esv=d1dc203dc5631f05&sca_upv=1&sxsrf=ACQVn0-qI75aBYBGXYkgogg78Z7fx2PAmg%3A1711804360760&source=hp&ei=yA8IZpyELL7E0PEP7ZqxmAw&iflsig=ANes7DEAAAAAZggd2FhW0hDU2UrQN18y3YcPU5G80oko&oq=rus&gs_lp=Egdnd3Mtd2l6IgNydXMqAggAMgQQIxgnMgsQLhiABBiKBRiRAjILEC4YgAQYigUYkQIyChAAGIAEGIoFGEMyChAAGIAEGIoFGEMyChAuGIAEGIoFGEMyChAAGIAEGIoFGEMyChAAGIAEGIoFGEMyChAAGIAEGIoFGEMyChAAGIAEGIoFGENItjlQAFjDHnABeACQAQCYAZcBoAGZBKoBAzAuNLgBAcgBAPgBAZgCBaACtgTCAgsQABiABBiKBRiRAsICDhAAGIAEGIoFGLEDGIMBwgILEAAYgAQYsQMYgwHCAgsQLhiABBixAxiDAcICERAuGIAEGLEDGIMBGMcBGNEDwgIIEAAYgAQYsQPCAhoQLhiABBiKBRiRAhiXBRjcBBjeBBjgBNgBAcICEBAuGIAEGIoFGEMYsQMYgwHCAgUQABiABMICDRAuGIAEGIoFGEMYsQPCAg0QABiABBgKGLEDGIMBwgIZEC4YgAQYigUYQxiXBRjcBBjeBBjgBNgBAZgDALoGBggBEAEYFJIHAzEuNKAH5jA&sclient=gws-wiz#ip=1

Spinners have thin bodies so I would use less dubbing.

Trout will take a parachute as a spinner but if they do not clip the front and rear hackle so they form "cross" shape of an imago stage "spent" spinner on the water surface.

 

An even easier spinner pattern is to tie a Catskill variant dry fly and trim off the top and bottom and the fly will be a spinner pattern.

 

There are no "rusty" brown subimago stage mayflies that I know of.

 

In the kit I have there is a rusty parachute dry listed. If there in fact is or isn't I don't know. I just want to ty flys the best I can and fish them.

[SilverCreek 0]

Who makes that fly tying kit?

[john1962 0]

1 minute ago, SilverCreek said:

Who makes that fly tying kit?

Premium fly tying kit from Orvis

[SilverCreek 0]

I'm surprised that they would include that as a pattern for you to tie.

As I said, the  most common rust colored fly pattern is the rusty spinner and so I am surprised they did have you tie that one with the rust colored dubbing. It's a pattern that you will use much more often than a rusty parachute.

I am going to ask other fly tyers who are are reading this. Any of you have rusty parachutes in your fly boxes?

 

[Jaydub 0]

The parachute will work fine as a spinner pattern. And sometimes an upright wing (not spent) spinner works. It could also imitate a mahogany dun (Paraleptophlebia).

Your making good progress. As far as improvements, I would thin out the body and tighten up the parachute wraps.

[FIN-ITE 34 0]

My comment would be to make your body thinner with a taper from back to front.

[chugbug27 0]

+1 re just a wisp of dubbing and making a long, thin tapered body.

Orvis says its Rusty Parachute is designed as a spinner imitation, just fwiw. 

https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/tying-the-rusty-parachute-hendrickson

If you want to split the tails for the sake of tradition and imitation, leave your tag end of the tying thread on. After tying the tails in, take your tag end up through the tails, half on one side, half on the other. Pull until your tails split and tie it in. Just one method of many, but this method is easy. Note that the Orvis pattern doesn't split the tails, again fwiw.

Orvis uses black thread on this one, but with a thinly dubbed body a thread color closer to your dubbing color will help maintain that color when wet. (Black thread will darken your thinly applied rust dubbing when wet.) if you want a black head, you can switch thread for the head, or use a black marker, or a thin layer of acrylic paint. If you want the marker to last use a thin coat of uv glue over the head after marking to seal it in. Not sure if regular head cement would do the same thing.

Your parachute hackle looks thin and uneven. See the Orvis photo for its density. To improve it you need to make smooth thread wraps up and down the post (it can help to untwist your thread for this), and then wrap your hackle close together going down the post -- without twisting it.

Parachutes are not so easy on a #16 hook. Seriously  Try it a few times on a #14 or even a #12 until you get the hang of it better, then the #16 will come to you easier. All those sizes should work at one time or another. 

[SilverCreek 0]

To add to what Chugnug posted, the Hockley method of split tails is from my post back in 2017.

 

 

Bud Hockley of Baltimore Maryland also devised a  method of tying spit or fan tails which is both elegant and simple . This method was described in the 1985 September issue (vol 16, issue 6) of Fly Fisherman Magazine, pg 36 by none other than John Betts, the originator of microfibbets.

 

1. Tie an even number of Betts microfibbets or stiff hackle fibers in the usual manner and overwrap them with thread back to just before the start of the bend of the hook. Give yourself the room for two more wraps of thread before the bend starts.

2. Take a smooth dubbing needle and place it across the hook between the tails and the hook. Slide the needle toward the eye of the hook so that it lifts the tails off the hook. Now wrap two turns of thread around the dubbing needle and the hook as if you were going to tie the needle to the hook. This will slide the two turns of thread under the tail fibers. Gently pull the needle out as you tighten the thread, and guide the thread so that they lie around the hook, but under the tail fibers, and just in back of the thread wraps which tie the tail down. 

3. Now take the dubbing needle and place it along side of the hook closest to you  with the tip of the needle toward the eye of the hook. There should be a little space between the hook and needle to maneuver the needle. Now take the thread around the needle, and between the hook and the tails, as if you were going to tie the needle to the back of the hook. As you tighten the thread, gently remove the needle and guide the thread so that it comes to lie on top of the two wraps you place in step two.  This wrap will further splay the tails from the back of the hook

4. Keep repeating step three to place multiple wraps of thread just at the base of the tails, between the tails and the hook, until the tails begin to fan and split. When you have built up the thread ball, use your fingers to even up and split the tails and elevate them if you want.

5. Now take the thread and take a couple of cross wraps around the tail to hold them in the final position.

There you have it. The Hockley method of split or fan tailing a fly without using a dubbing ball. BTW, Hockley uses it for stonefly nymphs as well as dry flies.

[john1962 0]

Thank you for sending that info. That was an interesting read, I will try that next time I ty.

In the process of packing up my 5th wheel to drive up and over conway peak, look like the snow as stopped, should be at my destination tomorrow. No hurry. 

Tightlines

[vicrider 0]

On 3/30/2024 at 10:54 AM, john1962 said:

 I just want to ty flys the best I can and fish them.

 

Now that's the goal. Fish will eat your Rusty Parachute just fine.

[SilverCreek 0]

If your ultimate goal is to tie a fly that the most selective of fish will take as a natural, then you need to do two things very well.

The first is to pick out the most realistic pattern and this requires some understanding of what trout look for and what makes for a realistic pattern,

The second is the ability to tie the pattern well and that not only includes the ability to tie well BUT also the requirement to have the proper tools, materials, and tying ability.

If your goal is also catching that fish, then requires stalking, casting, mending, and strike detection skills as well

[cebe 0]

Hey john1962

that fly would match the mahogany duns here on the AuSable and Manistee. Parachutes that size and larger work pretty well here as a dun.