by Rich Johnson JUNE'S FLY: Delong Lake Special This fly is in Fly Patterns of Alaska by the Alaska Flyfishers and was chosen as being representative of the parachute style df tying. Parachutes can be very effective for grayling and rainbows in both lakes and streams. A variety of sizes and colors is important as the fish usually get a good look at these patterns.
	Hook: Standard Dry Fly Thread: 6/0 or 8/0 Tan Wing: Calf body hair, White Tail: Calf tail, White Rib: Wire, Gold (omitted) Body: Dubbing, Olive or Tan Hackle: Barred Sandy Dun or Ginger
	Attach the thread and, leaving an area behind the eye clear, cover the front half of the shank with a layer of thread. Bring the thread back to the front quarter spot on the shank. (This provides a base for the wing post.)
	Both calf tail (on left) and calf body (on right) are shown here. I prefer to use calf body for dry fly wings as it is straighter and has tips that taper rather quickly. As opposed to calf tail which is longer, has a lot more kink, and the tips are almost impossible to align. Note: For low light situations a lot of anglers use pink, orange, or yellow hair for the wing post, especially on small flies.
	Even the tips by stacking the hair. Measure the post to be the length of the body on a standard hook, or slightly longer than the gape for an extra long pattern. Tie the hair in by wrapping to the rear. Use a less tension for the first few wraps, increasing the tension you wrap rearward.
	Trim the hair butts off at a taper and bind down with thread wraps to the rear. Your thread should now be at the rear of the body, just above the barb of the hook. The thread creates a base for the tail fibers. (Cutting the wing butts on a taper helps create a tapered under body and allows for the tail fibers to be blended into the underbody.)
	Select a small bundle of calf tail hair. Clean and groom the calf tail by removing all the short hairs from the base and pulling the long hairs out from the bundle. (Calf tail does not stack worth a *#@*%, you have to groom the tips on a bundle by pulling out longer fibers and realigning them into the bundle.) Measure the tail (body length on a standard dry) and attach by tightly wrapping thread fonvard. Trim the tail butts off at a taper that blends into the wing butt taper. Take the thread rearward.
	Apply dubbing to create a tapered abdomen, stopping just short of the wing. Bring the thread forward to the wing and pinch/lift the wing up, placing wraps of thread tightly against the front edge of the calf tail. Use enough wraps to raise the wing vertical.
	Now wrap the thread around the wing to Post it. Holding the tips of the wing will help keep the wing under control. Wrap thread tightly up the wing and then back down. You can at this time take a wrap or two behind the posted wing to pull the wing vertical. Leave the thread behind the wing.
	Select a hackle that has fibers longer than you would normally use on a traditional fly. (I like a fiber length that reaches the back of the body when wrapped,) Find the sweet spot and strip fibers from the stem. (Stems should be as thin as possible. Genetic saddles are great for parachute hackles.) If you clean a few extra fibers from the side of the stem that will be touching the wing your first couple of wraps are much neater. Tie in the stem along side of the shank with wraps both behind and in front of the wing. The hackle should have its shiny side up. Clip the stem and bind it along the side of the shank. Bring your thread back to the dubbed abdomen.
	Dub a thorax making sure to place wraps of dubbing behind the hackle and tightly against both the back and front of the wing. This angle show how the extra fibers were removed from the hackle stem, on the side which will make contact with the wing.
	Using hackle pliers, wrap the hackle around the posted wing. The first wrap can go a little high as each consecutive wrap needs to be under the previous wrap. In other words, take five or six wraps of hackle down the wing post. After the last wrap, let the hackle come over the front of the body and hang down the near side of the hook. This places the stem right on the bare hook shank just in front of the body.
	Gently pulling the hackle fibers back out of the way, tie off the hackle stem with a few tight wraps. Trim the stem and any errant fibers. Whip finish a neat head.
Side view	Top view
Previous Flies May 1999 : Beady-eye Nymph April 1999 : General Practitioner March 1999 : Sculpin (woolhead bunny) February 1999 : Popsicle January 1999 : Nuclic Bunny December 1998: Alaska Mary Ann November 1998: Niukluk Smolt October 1998: Sea Flea September 1998: Frank's Fly August 1998: Sparkle Shrimp July 1998: Flashfly June 1998: Comet May 1998: Everglow April 1998: Battle Creek Special March 1998: Pearl Marabou Smolt February 1998: Crystal Egg Wooly Bugger January 1998 : Tangle Lakes Teaser December 1997: Bead-Head Pheasant Tail Soft Hackle
Home | About | News | Alaska | Forum | Gallery | Links | Store | Membership
Send comments or questions regarding the Fly of the Month to Rich Johnson Photos and text by Rich Johnson, used by permission. Copyright © 1998, All Rights Reserved.