Roy's Reverse Para

[scotfly]

I was fortunate enough to spend a little time watching Roy Christie at my vice recently. Naturally I asked him to tie one of his Reversed Paras for me. I would have liked to have photographed Roy doing this step by step, but unfortunately time was not on our side. I did however ask loads of questions (why are you doing it that way Roy?) and watched intently. So this step by step is very much Roys, not the tying though which is mine, hopefully I?ve done this excellent fly justice.
In the dressing I have used a blend of dyed  Hare?s Ear dubbing. Simply alter the blend used to suit.
Although this is a long step by step the fly is actually remarkably easy to tie. The length is entirely due to the extra detail I wanted to include. Don?t let the length or the complexity of the photographs put you off.
You will see that I have stipulated waxed silk. If you don?t wax the silk first it is almost impossible to pull the mono loop tight. I have a few broken hooks which are testament to this!

I let Roy see this before I posted it for his opinion and if there was anything he wanted changed or added. So after he had finished waxing lyrical about my skills on the vice  :whistling he said the tails too long, I said the length was my personal preference or artistic licence, take your pick
The one important bit he wanted added was that when you fish the reversed para you must degrease your tippet to make it sink.

Instructions assume right-handed tyers.

HOOK ? Partridge Oliver Edwards Emerger (K14ST) #14
SILK ? Waxed  Pearsall?s Yellow
TAIL ? Hackle Fibres
BODY ? Olive Blend
RIB ? 4LB Mono
THORAX ? Dark Brown Blend
HACKLE ? Olive Dyed Grizzle Cock (Roy pre-treats his with watershed)
POST ? 4LB Mono


STEP 1
Mount the hook as shown and lay a bed of silk at the bend. According to Roy this bed of silk is for heat transfer. If you try to pull the mono loop on the bare hook shank the heat from the friction will be transferred back from the hook into the mono. The bed of silk protects the mono by absorbing the heat.



STEP 2
Take the silk to the eye and tie in a small bunch of hackle fibres for the tail. You don?t have to split the tails, the leader tippet will do this when you tie it on.



STEP 3
Tie in the 4lb mono for the rib and hackle post. Make sure the mono is long enough, I use approximately 10 ? 12in.



STEP 4
Apply a pinch of dubbing and wrap to form the body.



STEP 5
Counter rib the body with the mono and tie of on top of the hook shank.



STEP 6
Form a loop with the mono.



After the initial tie in make a few figure of eight wraps to secure the loop.



STEP 7
Tie in the hackle.



As you bind the hackle stem down allow the thread torque to pull the stem to right angles to the shank, this will give you a more secure tie in point.



STEP 8
Take one or two wraps round the base of the post and the hackle then take the thread round the hook bend, trapping the tag end of mono down as you go.



STEP 9
Apply a generous pinch of dubbing to the silk and wrap to form the thorax.



STEP 10
Well actually it?s not step 10 just yet, let?s take a jump back to STEP 6 ?form a loop with the mono?
Because of the difficulty of photographing these steps I decided to do it again on a larger hook with stiffer mono.
It was easier for me and it will let you see the process again in clearer detail. So?..

STEP 6 A?Form a loop with  the mono?  As you can see here the loop is formed like a loop the loop on a rollercoaster.







?After the initial tie in make a few figure of eight wraps to secure the loop.?



STEP 7 A
?Tie in the hackle?



As you bind the hackle stem down allow the thread torque to pull the stem to right angles to the shank, this will give you a more secure tie in point.




STEP 8 A
?Take one or two wraps round the base of the post and the hackle?



Ok, now we jump ahead again. You have formed the loop, tied the hackle in and dubbed the thorax.
So this is where we are now.



At this point you do a whipfinish and detach the thread and we?re ready to wrap the hackle.
Roy stipulates a specific way to form the parachute hackle, he doesn?t use a gallows tool or hackle pliers here.
I tried it with both, but found Roy?s way of doing it is far easier. Because of the difficulty of photographing this some of the sequence is shown using the heavier stiffer mono and some on the actual fly.

STEP 10
Wrap the hackle on the mono post by wrapping it round the post 3 times.



Then take it once through the loop.



Then take it 3 times round the post again and finally pass it through the loop twice.



Once you have done that insert your finger in the loop and holding it under tension slide the hackle down the loop.



You?re now ready to tighten the loop. To do this hold the loop just above the hackle and use your thumb to separate the two arms of the loop. This will stop the loop from twisting when you pull it tight.



Two points here.
One - you can?t over-tighten the loop, because of the way the hackle is wrapped the loop won?t cut through it. (I tried, but the mono or the hook broke before the hackle!)
Two ? Pass the tag of mono down between the vice jaws. This will give you a straight pull on the loop and reduce stress on the hook and the silk.

Now pull the loop tight.




After you have pulled the loop tight place your finger on top and press down and rock the hackle, then pull the loop tighter.




Once you?re happy that the loop is as tight as you can get it use your fingers to sweep the hackle fibres back up into their natural position.



STEP 11
Finally cut or snap off the hackle tip for the completed fly.




The apprentice meets the maestro.





As I said at the beginning don?t let the length and complexity of this step by step put you off. The fly is infinitely easier to tie than it is to photograph.

[scotfly]

It's a sheet of thin blue card.