THE F HOPPER PARACHUTE

MATERIALS LIST

Hook - 2X Long 1X Fine Dry Fly Hook. Daiichi 1280, Mustad 94831, Tiemco 5212, Orvis 1638, Partridge H1A. Size 6 to 14.

Thread - Color to match general color of fly.

Hackle Post - A single strand of white Aunt Lydia's Heavy Rug Yarn(ANTRON) or Poly yarn.

Abdomen - A closed cell foam strip 3/16 inch wide to be used for the abdomen. The 3 colors that work best for Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming streams are; Yellow, Tan, and Chartreuse. Tan is the favorite. This is the 5/64 inch thick closed cell foam found at craft shops.

Wing - Oak or bleached turkey quill coated with Flexament, trimmed to proper length and V-notched at the tip end.

Legs - Knotted Ringneck Pheasant tail fibers, hackle stems, rubber legs or ???.

Hackle - Grizzly rooster saddle or neck hackle tied parachute style.

Thorax - Sparkle dubbing matching the color of the fly.

TYING INSTRUCTION

Insert the hook in the vise attach the thread and build a good thread base.

Tie in at the normal wing position 1/3 hook shank length from hooks eye, with tight thread wraps, a 1 1/2 inch strand of Anton or poly yarn parallel to the hook shank. One end of the yarn to the hooks eye the other end to the hooks bend divided equally.

Pull both ends of the yarn strand to vertical above the hook and at the base of the yarn post material immediately against the top of the hook shank make 5 or 6 tight thread wraps around the yarn then 1-2 wraps around the hook shank. Proceed wrapping the post ie: 5-6 thread wraps around the post, 1-2 thread wraps around the shank until good stiffness is achieved. When finished the post will not work around the hook shank when wrapping the hackle. A good tight wrapping at the base of the post is the secret and about 40 to 60 thread wraps are needed to achieve a solid post. The thread wraps around the hook shank after each post wrapping keep the thread from slipping off the post too far "back" into the process. Continue wrapping up the post until you have sufficient wraps to accommodate 5-6 wraps of hackle. The final 8 to 10 wraps are in the Counter Clock-Wise direction.

Tie in the end of the 3/16 inch wide foam strip immediately behind the post. Secure with tying thread wraps to the bend of the hook. Pull the foam strip tight and begin wrapping the body. Gradually loosen the tension as the wraps proceed toward the hackle post. Overlap the wraps slightly. This will create a nicely tapered, segmented abdomen.

Tie in the quill wing material, cut to proper length, immediately behind the hackle post. Tie in the pheasant tail fiber legs angled slightly away from the body at he same point as the wing tie in. Trim the butts of the legs.

Make a nice sized dubbin noodle on the tying thread and with figure 8 wraps in back and in front of the hackle post cover the wing/leg tie in and the underside of the post. Finish with 2 wraps in front of the wing post.

Prepare a hackle with a long stripped stem at the butt. Tie in the hackle, at the front of the hackle post, on the away side of the hook and post, so that the bare stem extends past the the wrapped portion of the post then trim the excess hackle stem butt close to the hook's shank.

Wrap the hackle 5-6 times around the thread wraps on the post in a counter-clockwise direction, pull tight and secure the hackle tip with tying thread on the away side of the hook. The hackle fibers will need to pulled out of the way to secure the hackle tip. Trim the excess hackle tip close to the hook's shank.

Last add some dubbin to the tying thread, pull the hackle out of the way and in front of the post, wrap enough dubbin to finish the thorax/head area. Whip finish, cement, and that's it!