On our recent online order Eben brought in some really small hooks including some TMC 518 size 32's. The smallest I have tied on to date, was a TMC 100 #28 and with a couple of 32's kindly donated by Eben I decided to try and tie a parachute mayfly on one of them. Normally with small hooks it's best to tie a couple of larger sizes first and then progress down to the smaller sizes to get your eye in and the proportions correct. Ignoring my own good advice I sat down and tied this one this afternoon. To give you some idea of size, the shank of the hook from behind the eye to where the barb starts (i.o.w. your tying area) is less than 2mm. The thread I am using is Danvilles Spiderweb - it's a 30 denier thread which is pretty strong. It only comes in white but you can colour it with a waterproof marker. I decided not to with this fly as I didn't want to thicken the thread It also allows you to see the thread wraps more clearly which is interesting when tying this size fly. I have a large magnifying light at home but only used the magnifier for checking proportions. The last problem is what tippet to use ? On a TMC 100 #28 you can use 6x Rio Powerflex, on these flies my 0.1mm Stroft (7.1X) does not fit. I will have to dig out my 0.08mm Stroft (7.9X) and see if that fits. The gape on this hook is similar to the TMC 100 #28 so you should be able to actually catch something on it. I will give it a bash towards the end of the year when the water has calmed down a bit.
Hook: TMC 518 #32
Thread: Danvilles Spiderweb
Post: Metz Fl Red Antron
Tail: 3 Coq de Leon Hackle fibres
Dubbing: Black Superfine Dry Fly Dubbing
Hackle: Keough Black Dry Fly Cock Hackle
Step 1
Put the hook in the vise I am using the standard jaws on a Renzetti Presentation 2000 which makes this simple task a bit of a challenge.
Step 2
Attach the thread and trim.
Step 3
Take 6 - 8 Fl Red Antron fibres and double them below the shank and secure with thread.
Step 4
Run the thread down to just above the barb and tie in 3 Coq de Leon hackle fibres - try and position them on top of the shank They should be around 1 - 1.5 times the shank length.
Step 5
Locate the smallest hackle on your cape and prepare it by stripping a couple of barbs off the bottom. Tie this on and then make a few thread wraps up the post to give the post a bit more stability for wrapping.
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