 Tying Instructions |
Materials:
(to Order Material, click the link)
Actual Callibaetis 
|
|
|
Notes: The Parachute Adams does so well on it's own that often it can be considered upon it's own merits rather than just a variation of the original Adams fly designed by Leonard Halladay in 1922. One problem with the Adams is that it is difficult to see with the grizzly and brown hackles. The use of a parachute helps in sighting the fly but also in lowering its into the surface film. The Parachute technique is generally attributed to a young Scottish fly tier by the name of Helen Todd. She came up with the idea of wrapping horizontally after reading an American Fly Fishing Magazine that described tying the hackle "divided and spent". A horizontal wrapping of the hackle would achieve the same effect. She used stiff pig bristles for the wing post. However, her employer Alexander Martin, designed a hook with a metal post to wrap the hackle horizontally and patented the hook in 1931. Martin owned a tackle shop in Glasgow that was established in 1778. At the same time, William Avery Brush of Detroit, Michigan also filed a patent for the same type of metal post hook but his patent was not approved until three years later. Brush licensed the hook design to A.C. Mills, a tackle company that Ray Bergman tied flies for and the Parachute Adams was one of the original parachute flies that was referred to as a "Gyrofly" in the 1930's by A.C. Mills of New York. In Bergman's book "Trout" (1938) he described the parachute technique with the Ginger Quill Gyro. Unfortunately, both hooks were too heavy, did not float well, and fell out of favor. At the same time, Helen Todd continued to use hackle quills for the wingpost. On the Parachute Adams, a Grizzly Hackle was used as the wingpost and the Grizzly and Brown hackle was wrapped around it. It took another forty years when Swisher and Richards published their book, "Selective Trout" and suggested using Deer or Calf Hair as a wingpost in 1971 that the Parachute technique became popular. Today, many use Floating Polypropylene yarn, Antron, Calf Tail, Turkey Flats for the wingpost. Andre Puyans of Walnut Creek, CA introduced a loopwing style to the fly using Mallard Flank which gave the fly a better mayfly silhouette. The ParaWulff Adams is an adaptation of the Para Wulff pattern designed by Jack Dennis. Adding split Wulff style wings to the Adams, making this fly is even more visible on the water! It is a great imitation for callibaetis. The split tail gives the fly a more realistic profile and the flashy mylar rib adds a lifelike segmenting that fish can't pass up.
|
||
Variations: |
|
|
Female Parachute Adams 
|
Materials: (to Order Material, click the link)
|
|
Parachute Adams, Loopwing 
|
Materials: (to Order Material, click the link)
|
|
ParaWulff Adams 
|
Materials: (to Order Material, click the link)
|
|