hackle colours on parachutes

[Traditionalist]

Klinkhammers can not really be considered parachute flies in the accepted sense, as although the hackle is also applied in parachute fashion, the abdomen is designed to be sunk.  I have also had virtually no success on klinks with grizzly ( black and white) hackles, which is quite amazing really, as on other flies the grizzly hackled variations invariably outfish any other.

I have no idea why this is, but there must be a reason.

Also, and especially when grayling fishing in cold weather, I think the klinks are taken for hatching midges more than anything else.

With regard to the hackle colours on parachutes generally, I think this has a lot to do with prevailing light conditions. When dull and overcast the hackle colour seems to make quite a difference, on a bright day it seems to be less important, although brown seems to be more successful then, followed closely by dark grey.  On bright days the fish see more of a silhouette, and the colour is largely irrelevant. On dull days they see the colour better, and the brown ( red game) hackle gives a very good impression of backlit chitin exoskeleton.  Very many insects are translucent orange when viewed in the right light.

Just theories.

TL
MC

[haresear]

[quoteOn bright days the fish see more of a silhouette, and the colour is largely irrelevant. On dull days they see the colour better][/quote]

A good point Mike.

I tend to try to approximate the colour of the insects on the water anyway just because it makes sense to do so.

Alex

[Traditionalist]

Just musings and impressions from my own experiences, nothing hard and fast, and certainly not statistically relevant. Sometimes one seems to notice certain trends, whether they are actual or merely imagined is sometimes very difficult to say.  I do try to give lots of things a trial, although less nowadays than I used to. When one dresses a lot of flies, and has boxes full of them, it all seems a bit pointless if one does not actually ever use them.  I still have quite a few traditional dry flies, and winged wet flies, which I use occasionally for old times sake, and I even dress a few more now and again, but I think I could manage very well with just a couple of patterns for freshwater trout fishing now.

The older I get, and the more I fish, the more I am convinced that presentation is at least 70...80% of the battle. The actual pattern one uses is often secondary.  One will not catch all the fish, even with "perfect" patterns.

I also use a fair number of hair hackles for various things now, and as they are extremely robust, they tend to last a very long time.

One thing I am quite certain of, I could get rid of at least 90% of the fly-dressing stuff I have, and still have enough to last a lifetime!

Colours are actually the least of my worries as far as that goes.

TL
MC

[Malcolm]

In the early eighties I fished on Bewl Bridge with a wonderful fisherman (and boat companion) - he was a fine fly caster and fly dresser too and a real thinker about his fishing, he was a member of my club and we tended to fish together. I found out much later that he was influential in fly-dressing and casting circles.

Anyway, he told me that he had fished for a full season with nothing but black flies - dries, nymphs, wets, buzzers. He caught as many that season as any other. Makes you think!

Malcolm

[Fishtales]

Anyway, he told me that he had fished for a full season with nothing but black flies - dries, nymphs, wets, buzzers. He caught as many that season as any other. Makes you think!

When I fished regularly on my local loch I had that reputation. One good friend used to come over and say "What are you catching them on tonight, a wee black fly?". He unfortunately was killed a few weeks ago in Fife heading for a fishing day out with a friend. He will be sadly missed.