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Fly of the Month

Bob Ireton brings together his experience in fly fishing, aquatic entomology, and knowledge of fly tying techniques and materials, to design and tie durable and effective flies.

Volume 4, Issue 9 September 2003

PARACHUTE SULFUR

Fly, Text, and Photography by Bob Ireton

Mayflies are perhaps the best known and most popular trout food. I would think that they are also an important food for all fish where mayflies occur, especially in the nymphal stage. Flies tied to imitate mayfly nymphs are very productive, since trout select underwater meals 90% of the time. However, a lot of fly fishermen choose to fish for the trout where they get only 10% of their food; the water's surface. This cuts down on the number of trout one will catch, but for the purest, the thrill of watching a trout rise, and take their fly, is well worth the odds.

As the mayfly nymph moves up to the surface, it splits its nymphal skin, and at the surface, the dun emerges. It floats along the surface film on its legs while the wings dry. Then it flies off to the nearby foliage. The fly fisherman presents his fly while the duns are floating on the surface. They use traditional hackled flies that ride high on the water to imitate the dun. However, some duns run into trouble, and for a variety of reasons, find themselves trapped in the surface film, riding low, and very vulnerable to the fish. I think that is what makes a parachute fly so effective. An added bonus is that the post on the fly makes a great indicator for the flyfisher to see.

When I think about a Sulpur hatch, I recall fishing the South Holston tailwater. Every day when it was nearing the time of the hatch, the swallows would gather by the hundreds on the high tension wires, and when the hatch began, the swallows would go wild catching the Sulfur duns. On one cast, a bird took my fly! Lucky for the bird, I was able to 'catch and release' it unharmed.

MATERIALS
.
Hook - TMC 100, Dai-Riki 300, Daiichi 1100, Mustad 94840, Orvis 1509.
Size - 14-18.
Thread - Uni Lt. Cahill 6/0 or 8/0.
Wing - Yellow HI-VIS.
Tail - Yellow tailing fibers.
Abdomen - Sulfur dry fly dubbing.
Hackle - Tan or Lt. Yellow dry fly hackle.
Thorax - Rust dry fly dubbing.

TYING STEPS - click on pictures for larger view

1 - Place the hook properly in the vice. Pinch down barb, if desired. Attach the thread behind the hook eye, leaving the space of one hook eye between the eye of hook and thread. Tie a half hitch.
2 - Bring the thread forward, using well-spaced wraps, stopping at a point just past 3/4 hook shank . Tie a half hitch. A pair of dividers is useful in measuring fly proportions.
3 - Lay the hi-vis on top of the hook shank with the trimmed end facing toward and extending past the hook eye. The length of the wing is one hook shank past the tie in point. Secure the material using a couple of soft loops, then continue to secure the wing as pictured. A drop of head cement spread on the wings' securing wraps is not a bad idea.
4 - Bring the thread back to the wing, and while holding the hi-vis upright, secure in this position by building a thread dam in front of the wing. Then with a spaced wrap, move the thread up the wing about the length of a hook eye, then with secure, close wraps, move the thread back down the wing to create a base for the hackle. Bring the thread back to above the barb, and form a thread ball to spread the tail fibers. Tie a half hitch.
5 - I find that the tailing fibers available are very thin and need to be used as a bunch to have enough bulk to be seen and work properly. The Sulpur dun has a split tail, not three tail segments like most mayflies. I stack 3 to 4 tailing fibers in a stacker, grab the butt ends with some type of clip to hold the fibers together, and stroke on some head cement with my fingers. After they dry, they make nice tailing fibers to be used alone as tails. However you decide to make the tail, lay them on each side of the thread ball, and secure so the fibers spread apart to form a split tail about the length of the hook shank. Trim off the butts, and tie a half hitch.
6 - Rub a very small amount of dubbing wax on several inches of your working thread. Spread a small amount of the sulpur dry fly dubbing along the thread, then spin the dubbing around the thread.
7 - Palmer your dubbing covered thread forward to form the abdomen. Stop just forward of the wing post. Tie a half hitch.
8 - Prepare the dry fly hackle by trimming the fibers from the hackle stem on both sides for a distance that will allow you to tie in the hackle, and wind the feather up the wing post just to the top of the thread wraps without causing any of the feather fibers to spread out. Now tie in the tip of the prepared hackle in front of the wing, so the feather fibers are horizontal to the hook shank. Tie a half hitch.
9 - Hold the tip of the hackle feather with hackle pliers. Bring the trimmed portion of the feather shaft up around the wing post so when you get to the top of the thread wraps, the feather fibers will start to fan out. Now start palmering the hackle downward in close wraps to form the parachute wing. When you reach the bottom of the post, carefully hold the feather fibers up, and tie off the feather. Tie a half hitch, and trim the feather butt.
10 - Apply a very small amount of the rust colored dubbing to give a suggestion of the reddish area on the Sulpur dun . Carefully wrap on the head, and tie several half hitches. Snip off the working thread. Because of the parachute hackle fibers, a half hitch tool works nicely for this part. Apply some head cement on the thread, being mindful to avoid getting cement in the hackle fibers.

The Buckeye United Fly Fishers, Inc is a non-profit corporation organized under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, incorporated in the State of Ohio for the preservation, conservation and wise use of our fishing waters and game fish; and to assist in the protection and improvement of our natural resources