Tups Indispensible tied with a Parachute Hackle
I have often thought that fly tying is all about methods and proportions and
after so many years tying flies, I have found no reason to change my mind.
But
recently questions have come to pass about the correct positioning of the
post on the hook shank whilst tying standard parachute hackled flies.
The reason I am trying to source the answer is that I have been asked to be
a judge at a fly tying competition being run by Greenwell’s Fly Fishing Club
in Albury NSW. In discussing the
various categories of the competition, I made the suggestion that a fly tied
parachute fashion would be a good idea but this post business has opened a
can of worms.
Who invented this style of hackling is a very debatable question in its own
right. Should the credit be given to Mr William Bush of Detroit who was
granted a patent on a hook design to tie this fly in 1934?
All I can say is, “most likely.”
The
story goes somewhat like this; it is all about hooks and patents and as far
as I can glean, this hackling method was invented way back in the beginning
of last century.
To open this part of the chat, let Peter Leuver take the rostrum, for he
states in his great Australian book,
Fur and Feather, and I quote:
Helen Todd, a young lady from
Scotland, came from a family of keen fly-fishermen.
Although she didn’t fish herself,
her interest in fly tying led her to an apprenticeship with a firm called
Wallace and Kerr of Edinburgh. There
she learnt her craft the old way without vices or tools of any kind, just
her fingers.
She read an article in an American magazine where a writer suggested tying
hackles by dividing them and tying them “spent”; this resulted in better
floatability. The article stimulated her imagination and during the winter
of 1931-32 she developed the Parachute Fly.
Alex Martin, the Glasgow firm she was working for at the time,
patented and marketed the pattern in 1933.
They ceased production of all their other patterns to concentrate on
the Parachute. The American who wrote the original article got a penny for
each fly sold, while Helen Todd got nothing but praise.
What a nice lady but Peter also states:
When Helen Todd tied wingless
parachutes she used a pig’s bristle as a “mast”.
This was tied at right angles to the
hook shank pointing up. Since then all sorts of methods have been used.
Hooks were manufactured with little
masts “built in”; but their weight was a drawback.
Unquote.
Both of the Alex Martin flies were sent to me by Terry Moore of Birmingham
UK and believe me, they were gratefully received as they have added
considerably to this article.
A close look at both of the Alex Martin flies would suggest that they were
tied on the hook designed and patented by William Brush, as the post is
situated close to the 2/3rd of the length of the shank.
Pic taken from "Trout", by Ernest Schwiebert
As we can see by this picture, he chose a
Perfect Round Bend and placed the
“Mast” well forward of the half-way mark on the hook shank, which is the
accepted position if tying in wings on a standard fly - “The
two thirds of the shank guideline”.
It is also interesting to note that the House of Hardy in 1934 were selling
Parachute-hackled flies on specially made “Hardy hooks”.
They called the flies “Ride Rite”,
British Patent Number 379343.
John Veniard claims in his book “A
Further Guide to Fly Dressing” that Alex Martin manufactured special
hooks, so designed to make parachute hackled flies and this is most probably
correct but I can no further reference to this claim.
We know that the American, William
Brush of Detroit, got his patent in 1934. And
would you believe, in the same year so did the
House of Hardy in England.
William Brush applied for his patent in 1931 and it took three years for his
application to finally come through in 1934.
Hook courtesy Tom Edwards of Melbourne
The hook featured in the 1934 House of Hardy Catalogue was a “Sproat” styled
hook and the “Mast” was placed half-way between the eye and the point.