Parachute Adams · Dry fly
A white post over October sage
A size 18 Parachute Adams in olive-grey with a white calf post, for blue-winged olive hatches on the Owyhee River in October.
A small Parachute Adams with a bright white post and a slim olive-grey body, tied for blue-winged olive days. Grizzly and brown hackle spins flat around the post, and the same barred fibers make a long, sparse tail.
- Pattern
- Parachute Adams
- Imitates
- Blue-winged olive duns, with midges alongside, typically through October afternoons
- Hook
- size 18
- Tippet
- 6Xrule of three
- White calf post easy to track
- Grizzly and brown hackle, parachute style
- Slim olive-grey dubbed body
- Size 18 dry fly hook
- Matches October blue-winged olives
On the water
A tuft of white calf hair stands straight up like a flag. Below it, grizzly and brown hackle fans out in a flat, speckled ring. The body is thin and olive-grey, tapered to a neat head, with barred tail fibers trailing long behind. Yellow sage and canyon rock blur in the distance.
Fish it when small olives start lifting off the surface on a grey October afternoon. Cast above a rising fish and let it drift drag-free, low in the film, with only the white post showing. When midges are on instead, the same quiet drift still makes sense.
The post is the part to get right. Wrap thread up its base a few turns so the calf hair stands stiff, and the hackle has something firm to sit around.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 6Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Use 6X tippet; a long, fine leader helps the fly drift without drag.
- Dress the hackle and post with floatant, keep the body low in the film.
- Cast a few feet above the rise and mend to keep the drift dead.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Blue-winged olive duns, with midges alongside, typically through October afternoons
- Target
- Trout
- Water type
- Slow glides, flats and soft seams
- Also fishes
- Midge activity on calm days, and small mayfly hatches on spring creeks and slow tailouts through the season.
Make it yourself
Intermediate4 materials · 10 steps
- Pattern
- Parachute Adams
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Dry fly hooksize 18
- Thread
- 8/0 grey
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- WingWhite calf body hair post
- TailMixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers
- BodyOlive-grey superfine dubbing
- HackleGrizzly and brown rooster, parachute style
Details
- Imitates
- Blue-winged olive mayfly dun
- Colors
- White, Olive-grey, Grizzly, Brown
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
- Mount a size 18 dry fly hook and start 8/0 grey thread behind the eye, laying a base to mid-shank.
- Tie in a small clump of white calf body hair one-third back from the eye, tips forward, one shank length long; trim the butts at a taper.
- Stand the post upright with thread wraps in front of it, then wrap a short collar of thread up its base to stiffen it.
- Run the thread to the bend and tie in mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers for a tail one shank length long.
- Dub a slim, tapered olive-grey body from the bend up to the back of the post.
- Strip one grizzly and one brown feather and tie them in at the post base, stems running up the post, shiny sides up.
- Dub a small thorax behind and in front of the post, leaving room at the eye.
- Wrap the grizzly hackle down the post in three to four touching turns, then wrap the brown down through it.
- Tie off both hackle tips in front of the post and trim them close.
- Whip finish a small head and add a drop of cement.
Proportions (4)
- Tail: one shank length, sparse.
- Post: about one shank length tall above the hook.
- Hackle fibers: about one and a half times the hook gape.
- Body: slim taper over the rear two-thirds of the shank.
Tips (3)
- Stack the calf hair before tying it in so the post tips stay even.
- Keep dubbing thin on a size 18; a pinch less than feels right is usually right.
- Wrap hackle downward on the post so each turn locks the one above.
Common mistakes (4)
- Floppy post: wrap thread up its base before adding hackle.
- Crowded eye: stop the thorax short so the whip finish has room.
- Fat body: twist dubbing tight and sparse to keep the mayfly outline slim.
- Hackle trapped under the tie-off: sweep fibers back before the final wraps.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 18 · Materials only · 12 flies
$49.30
$4.11 a fly
Includes Dry fly hook · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 8 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$2.95
Materials
- White calf body hair post$5.50
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$11.95
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$4.50
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$11.95
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · Materials only · 48 flies
$85.22
$1.78 a fly
Bought separately $89.70 · you save $4.48
Includes Dry fly hook · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 8 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$2.95
Materials
- White calf body hair post$11
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$23.90
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$9
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$23.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · Materials only · 144 flies
$205.22
$1.43 a fly
Bought separately $233.20 · you save $27.98
Includes Dry fly hook · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 8 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$8.85
Materials
- White calf body hair post$22
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$71.70
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$18
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$71.70
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 18 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$199.30
$16.61 a fly
Includes Dry fly hook · and 16 more
Every item in this kit · 17 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$6.50
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$2.95
Materials
- White calf body hair post$5.50
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$11.95
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$4.50
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$11.95
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · With vise & tools · 48 flies
$227.72
$4.74 a fly
Bought separately $239.70 · you save $11.98
Includes Dry fly hook · and 16 more
Every item in this kit · 17 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$2.95
Materials
- White calf body hair post$11
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$23.90
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$9
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$23.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · With vise & tools · 144 flies
$337.22
$2.34 a fly
Bought separately $383.20 · you save $45.98
Includes Dry fly hook · and 16 more
Every item in this kit · 17 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- 8/0 grey thread$8.85
Materials
- White calf body hair post$22
- Mixed grizzly and brown hackle fibers$71.70
- Olive-grey superfine dubbing$18
- Grizzly and brown rooster, parachute style$71.70
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Tools
- Rotary pedestal vise$79
- Ceramic bobbin$14
- Fine-point scissors$16
- Whip finisher$9
- Hackle pliers$7
- Bodkin$5
- Bobbin threader$4
- Dubbing wax$4
- Canvas tool roll$12
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
The creator
How it was made
1 iteration led here; the saved one is marked
1 Saved
Remixes
No remixes yet — make your own version.
Where this came from
“a fly tied for Owyhee River, Oregon”
fly pattern · made
0 — nothing entered the score yet, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.
- parachute adams
- dry fly
- blue-winged olive
- bwo
- mayfly
- owyhee river
- october
- trout
- calf hair post
- grizzly hackle
- size 18