I like tying dry flies parachute-style. For one thing, they look more natural as they lie there in the surface film, like a spent insect ought to look.
For another thing, they are relatively easy to tie. The fly consists of a tail, a body, a post upon which to horizontally wrap a hackle, and the hackle itself. The finished fly sits low in the water, suspended by the tail, body, and hackle. About the only thing you can really see, especially at a distance if you have eyesight like mine, is the post sticking up like a little sail.
The normal "post" is a small thatch of white hair, such as calf tail, attached in front of the body and tweaked with figure-eight turns until it stands upright. The hackle is then wrapped around the base of the hair and tied off. The trouble is, if you're casting to turbulent water, the white post blends with the background and you lose sight of it.
My optometrist couldn't improve my vision, so it meant finding a substitute, something I could see easily but which wouldn't spook the fish. It was while tying some dry flies for trout that I found a way to keep the fly more visible. Lying on the bench were several small bits of closed cell foam that I'd been using to tie some imitation orange and yellow-bodied stoneflies.
I snipped off a small wedge of the orange and tied it to the top of a black fly I had been building. It stood out like a beacon. I secured it with a daub of Krazy glue and wrapped the hackle around it, tied it off, and admired my creation. It looked good. A half-hour later and I had seven more flies lying on the table, some with a yellow post and some with orange. They were variations of familiar Wulff patterns-grizzly, grey, white, and royal, plus the little black one. All were tied on #10 light-wire, dry fly hooks.
The acid test proved successful. Even at 60 feet the little orange or yellow foam post was highly visible, in many cases not more than a tiny speck on the surface, but at least one that I could see. The flies took several brookies, both then and in subsequent ventures, and never once did the fish exhibit any trepidation toward the colours. What they saw from below was hackle, body, and tail, while all I could see on top was that tiny dot of yellow or orange foam bobbing along.
Over several seasons I've discovered that the foam post also works on larger Atlantic salmon dry flies, as well as patterns for rainbow trout and brown trout. The process is so simple and the flies so easy to tie that even the most clumsy novice can handle it with ease.
First, tie in the tail and body of your choice. Attach the narrow end of the wedge in front of the body section with a few wraps of thread, both front and back, until it is vertical, then add a drop of Krazy glue to the base to hold it there. Take three or four wraps of hackle and tie off, add head cement, and get fishing!
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