Parachute Adams · Dry fly
A white post riding the October light
A size 18 Parachute Adams with an olive-grey body and white post, for trout during blue-winged olive and midge hatches on the Owyhee.
A small Parachute Adams with a bright white post, a splayed tail and a slim olive-grey body. It is dressed in brown and grizzly hackle wound flat around the post, with a neat black thread head.
- Pattern
- Parachute Adams
- Imitates
- Blue-winged olive duns with midges mixed in, typically October afternoons
- Hook
- size 18
- Tippet
- 6Xrule of three
- White poly post easy to track
- Brown and grizzly hackle wound parachute
- Slim olive-grey dubbed body
- Size 18 dry-fly hook
- Matches October blue-winged olives
On the water
A tuft of white yarn stands up like a little flag. Below it, brown and grizzly fibers fan out flat, and a long speckled tail trails behind a thin olive-grey body. The black head is tidy and small.
Fish it when the olives come off in the afternoon and the surface starts to dimple. Cast a few feet above the rise, mend once, and let it drift dead with no drag. The white post makes it easy to follow when the light goes flat.
Parachute hackle is the part to get right. Wrap each turn down the post under the last, keep the fibers level, and tie off tight to the post so the collar stays flat on the water.
Rigging
- Tippet
- 6Xhook size divided by three
- Leader
- Nine feet, tapered — longer and finer in flat water
- Rig on 6X tippet, 9 to 12 feet of leader, to keep the small hook drifting naturally.
- Dress the hackle and tail with floatant; keep the body dry so it sits low in the film.
- Lead the fish slightly and aim for a drag-free drift; a single upstream mend usually helps.
Where and when
- Hatch
- Blue-winged olive duns with midges mixed in, typically October afternoons
- Target
- trout
- Water type
- Flat runs, slow pools and soft seams
- Also fishes
- Also fishes well through midge activity and as a general mayfly searcher on any flat water where trout sip small bugs.
Make it yourself
Intermediate5 materials · 10 steps
- Pattern
- Parachute Adams
- Style
- Dry fly
- Hook
- Dry-fly hooksize 18
- Thread
- Black 8/0
Materials in the order they go on the hook
- WingWhite poly yarn post
- TailMixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers
- BodyOlive-grey dubbing
- HackleBrown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute
- HeadBlack thread
Details
- Imitates
- Blue-winged olive mayfly adult
- Colors
- white, olive-grey, brown, grizzly grey, black
How to tie it
The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
- Mount the hook and start the black 8/0 thread a third of the shank back from the eye.
- Tie in the white poly yarn on top, post it upright with thread wraps in front, and wrap a short base up the post.
- Trim the post to about one shank length tall.
- Wrap the thread to the bend and tie in a bunch of mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers, one shank length long.
- Twist a thin noodle of olive-grey dubbing onto the thread and build a slim, slightly tapered body up to the post.
- Strip the base of the brown and grizzly hackles and tie them in at the base of the post, dull side up.
- Add a pinch of dubbing around the post base to form a small thorax.
- Wind the brown hackle down the post three or four turns, each turn below the last, and tie it off.
- Wind the grizzly hackle through the brown the same way, tie off, and trim both tips.
- Form a small black thread head behind the eye, whip finish and add a touch of cement.
Proportions (4)
- Tail: one shank length, fibers kept together in a neat bunch.
- Post: about one shank length above the hook.
- Hackle fibers: one and a half times the hook gap.
- Body: slim, taper from bend to post, with a touch more dubbing at the thorax.
Tips (4)
- Wrap thread up the post first so the hackle has a firm base to climb.
- Use very little dubbing on a size 18; a thin noodle keeps the body sharp.
- Pick hackles with short, stiff fibers so the collar stays crisp on the water.
- Hold the post up with hackle pliers while winding to keep the turns level.
Common mistakes (4)
- Post too short makes the fly hard to see; trim it later rather than sooner.
- Hackle crowding the eye leaves no room for the head; leave a clear space before tying in the post.
- Overdubbed body sits heavy and rides low; twist on less and build in two thin layers.
- Hackle spiraling up the post looks messy; wind each turn below the previous one.
Every kit size
Materials only
Size 18 · Materials only · 12 flies
$47.30
$3.94 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
- Black 8/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- White poly yarn post$3.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$11.95
- Olive-grey dubbing$4.50
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$11.95
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · Materials only · 48 flies
$80.89
$1.69 a fly
Bought separately $85.15 · you save $4.26
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 8 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Black 8/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- White poly yarn post$3.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$23.90
- Olive-grey dubbing$9
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$23.90
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
Size 18 · Materials only · 144 flies
$202.88
$1.41 a fly
Bought separately $230.55 · you save $27.67
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 7 more
Every item in this kit · 8 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Black 8/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- White poly yarn post$10.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$71.70
- Olive-grey dubbing$18
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$71.70
Finishing
- Head cement$5.95
Guide
- Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded
With vise & tools
Size 18 · With vise & tools · 12 flies
$197.30
$16.44 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
- Black 8/0 thread$2.95
Materials
- White poly yarn post$3.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$11.95
- Olive-grey dubbing$4.50
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$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
$223.39
$4.65 a fly
Bought separately $235.15 · you save $11.76
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 16 more
Every item in this kit · 17 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$13
Thread & wire
- Black 8/0 thread$5.90
Materials
- White poly yarn post$3.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$23.90
- Olive-grey dubbing$9
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$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
$334.88
$2.33 a fly
Bought separately $380.55 · you save $45.67
Includes Dry-fly hook · and 16 more
Every item in this kit · 17 items
Hooks & beads
- Dry-fly hook$35
Thread & wire
- Black 8/0 thread$17.70
Materials
- White poly yarn post$10.50
- Mixed brown and grizzly hackle fibers$71.70
- Olive-grey dubbing$18
- Brown and grizzly saddle hackle, wound parachute$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
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- parachute adams
- dry fly
- blue-winged olive
- baetis
- mayfly
- midge
- owyhee
- trout
- size 18
- white post
- grizzly hackle
- october