Parashooter

[salmobytes 0]

Paraducks

Scud hook.  #20 Kumota in this case

Duck flank body. Tied on a waxy #10 beading needle and wetted slightly with fabric cement. I use purple cross country ski vax. After making the modular wing/body on a horizontal needle the wax makes it possible to slide the body off the needle.  To mount a previously manufactured modular body tie on an unwound  hackle first.  Then lash down the body LOOSELY with two or three (loose) wraps, while pulling up on the wing with your other hand.  Now wind the thread horizontally three or four times, between body and shank. Now wind the hackle the same way.  Turn the fly on its side.  Put a micro dot of ZapAGap (could be a thick UV resin) at the fulcrum of the parachute.  Breath on it (or shine UV light).  Wait ten seconds. Snip the tag end of the hackle off  close to the shank with a razor blade while pulling tight on the feather.

Senyo Laser Dub wing, with optional teal accent, pulled up either side of the needle-mounted body. I sometimes add a contrasting abdomen  ribbing too.

Rooster feather parachute wound between body and hook, as per previous description.

Fibettes tails 

Additional fabric  cement brushed on as needed (Aleene's Flexible Stretchable is the best but any will do) keeps the soft flexible body from unraveling.  Some fabric cements cure to hard.  Aleene's Flexible Stretchable cures to something vaguely like a soft gooey rubber band.  

 

 

 

Most low-to-the-water mayfly dry flies don't float well in faster than spring creek conditions.  This one does.  You can make the parachute as sparse or as bushy as you want. As you like it.  The (soft flexible) extended body married to a short shank hook reduces the ratio of metal to overall fly size.  So that helps with the float too. Considerably, as it turns out.  

Casts well. Floats well. Dries off quickly.  Lands upright every time.  Has a realistic profile (which may or may not matter to the fish).  This pattern  may not qualify as "fast and easy to tie" but it is surprisingly easy compared to, for instance, a shaped-wing Henry's Fork style no hackle.  A Paraducks is no more time consuming or difficult to tie than a traditional Catskill dry fly.  I enjoy tying them as well as fishing them, even though they are one of the more complicated patterns I tie.  

I used to make the wing out of duck flank too.  But after trimming a duck flank wing you get sharp edges which catch the wind and twist the leader.  Senyo Laser Dub' is easier to deal with.  And the Laser Dub wing does not twist the leader.

 

[niveker 0]

Wow, very nice. 

[salmobytes 0]

:=)) thank you

 

 

[Sandan 0]

yep, very nice work. Quite interesting also, thanks

[salmobytes 0]

Among short shank hooks those with a down eye tend to be heavy wire scud hooks

 

Those (short shank hooks) with a straight eye tend to be light wire dry fly hooks.

 

Does anyone know of a down-eye LIGHT WIRE hook?  

[chugbug27 0]

Tiemco 2487 is down eye, short and 1xf, but it's curved. 

[salmobytes 0]

Tiemco 2487 -- perfect.  Thank you. 

[salmobytes 0]

.............this one with a Zelon Right Hackle ¹

 

 

¹ Right Hackle because it's a fuzzy tuft at right angles to the shank, mounted underneath.  One long loose figure eight wrap underneath bastes the hackle roughly in place.  Spread the fibers out along the underside.  Adjust them as needed.  Then apply a dab of thick CA or UV resin.  

[DFoster 0]

Nice work!

[skeet3t 0]

Very life like. I like the idea of the parachute to allow the fly to sit upright. I should have some things to duplicate the fly. Thanks for sharing the recipe and the great photos.

[salmobytes 0]

wing/body is tied on a waxed up horizontal #10 beading needle.

I lash down long tail fibers and then  a duck flank feather slightly wetted with fabric cement.  Wind out to the tail. Wind back. Widely spaced wraps.  But any body method would do.

Pull  a long skinny clump of Senyo Laser Dub up either side of the needle at the wing position.  Two parachute wraps on top secure it.

 

Slide it off the needle.  Bend the body to any desired curve.  Dab on a bit of slightly thinned fabric cement, here and there.  Now the modular body is done.  Aleene's Flexible Stretchable fabric cement is the best for fly tying.  It cures to a soft gooey rubber band like consistency.  Fabric cements that cure hard are less useful.  

 

I will buy a new video-capable camera later this month.  DIY vids are in the works. Video is the only way to really show how to do new stuff.