Post colour?

[markdej]

HI Chaps,

Is the colour of posts in parachute style patterns important?

(Beyond improving visibility to the angler)

I have searched around and have yet to find anything specific on this topic.

As I have observed that with little bass (shock horror) a chartreuse indicator on a hi-vis beetle gets no takes. But an orange indicator hi-vis beetle works very well!

Thoughts? comments & links appreciated!

Mark

[MaXiMuM]

Mark, great question…

There are a few theories to this.
1. When a mayfly emerge’s from it’s nymphal shuck, it climbs out of the wing case, and points straight up, thus the post actually imitates the insect.
2. Mayfly’s hold their wings straight up while they are on the water, thus the post imitates that.
So when I tie mayfly patterns, the post is part of the imitation, and thus I keep it white.

When I add a post for spotting a fly it can be almost any color, pink, green, yellow or red, just remember to keep them small.

Google – “Kelly Gallop tying cripples and spinners”

I am sure many other guys have much experience in this…

[markdej]

Thanks Mike!

Now there can be method to my madness!

Looks like a great DVD that! (On wishlist as of 5min ago )

I constantly have Mario's voice in the back of my mind when it comes to post sizing and dimensions. i feel like a naughty schoolboy if I don't trim my posts


Mark

[Beetle]

Hi
I have used many different colours in my parachute posts and have found if you use 2 colours eg. black and white together, or white and a flourecent colour, the fish do not shy away from the fly and you also have better site on the fly.
My favourite is black and white because it helps you see the fly in many different light situations.
I do find that if I can see the fly well, I will be able to get a better drift on each cast. This in turn keeps the fly on the water for a longer period, so more chance the fish will see the fly.
Hope this helps a bit.
Cheers

[dlampert]

HI Chaps,

Is the colour of posts in parachute style patterns important?

(Beyond improving visibility to the angler)

I have searched around and have yet to find anything specific on this topic.

As I have observed that with little bass (shock horror) a chartreuse indicator on a hi-vis beetle gets no takes. But an orange indicator hi-vis beetle works very well!

Thoughts? comments & links appreciated!

Mark

Hi Mark,

I have yet to find a fish which refused my fly due to it having a Fl Red Antron post but apparently they do exist. The Fl. Red Antron is the most visible colour I have used under a wide variety of different lighting conditions. If you really want to imitate the natural then the wings on most mayflies are dun (guess thats why they call them duns ) coloured on emergence although you do get darker shades on some species. If you are worried about the fish seeing the post and being put off then cut the post short so that it can't be seen from below. I used to tie all my patterns with orange, red, white and dun coloured posts - now I just tend to stick to Fl Red and if they refuse the fly I will change to another pattern.

[Herman Jooste]

Mark,
A very good question to which I have no definitive answer. I fish the Vaal 99% of the time, and if I'm throwing a dry it's 20m+ casts. In order to see my fly I tie a Fluoro Orange post. Whether or not I have had "rejections" because of the post colour, I can not say.
I'm still new at this game

[chris williams]

I learnt a lot from when I used to floatfish on the English rivers as a kid. I used fl orange, fl yellow, fl red, fl green, fl white or even black floats depending on the time of day/season, shadows/silhouettes, and water colour. If I'm using a post essentially so I can see the fly, I'll trim it as short as possible but so I can see it, never mind the fish! Of course, it's difficult to be objective about it, but I reckon a correctly presented, correctly-dressed dry with a post either to mimic the colour/size of the natural's wings, or as a shorter post for our vision purposes won't scare fish off. Posts or blobs of fl paint on the top of many dries, including terrestrials, in difficult-to-see conditions/distances are to my failing eyesight the way to go! If you want to use a 'combo', black and yelow are the two highest-contrast colours.

Besides if you're fishing a dry in waters where you can't actually see it with no post, you're going to miss a whole load of sips and rises anyway..

[markdej]

Thanks for the thoughts to all!

So its all about the situation and how it pertains to your imitation!

Cause I have been using a pale green post om my parachutes as a "best of both worlds" type trade off... I guess a few more in other post colours cant hurt I can however see how keeping bright colours compact is something to bear in mind (I can see a hi-vis poodle hanging off a parachute adams scaring off everything other than a few greedy basslings)