Size 32 Parachute Mayfly Step by Step

[dlampert]

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.

[dlampert]

Step 6
Run the thread back to just above the barb and then dub a tiny amount of dry fly dubbing towards the post, around the post and in front of it.


Step 7
Make one wrap of thread clockwise around the post and then reposition the fly in the vise as shown.


Step 8
Make two wraps of hackle around the post with the second wrap below the first one. I normally finish my parachutes using super glue but in this case I used a Matareli whip finish tool and did a two turn whip finish.


The finished fly - Side View


The finished fly - Top View

[ShaunF]

Eish ! Given the magnification evident in the fact that the Antron fibres look like rope, I'd say thats very well done indeed. How about one more photo that puts the finished flies size into perspective with something know, say a match head ?

[Halfstone]

One of these could come in handy for those difficult mullet,I don't know if a7.9x tippet would be able to handle mullet,even on a 000 rod.

[gkieser]

Cool! Been a while since we had an SBS on here!

[dlampert]

Eish ! Given the magnification evident in the fact that the Antron fibres look like rope, I'd say thats very well done indeed. How about one more photo that puts the finished flies size into perspective with something know, say a match head ?

Easier said then done

[rols]

maybe a pin head? that is amazing, with my eyes i'll just chuck them in as chum flies. Geez Darryl, thats awesome. the 28 you gave Wiets blew us all away, this is for the showcase....or seeing these people with a small thing in the nose lip or whatever, could be career changing....."Darryl's Micro Piercings"

[Chris Shelton]

I think you should babysit more often Darryl. You get upto some really interesting stuff when homebound I see. Those are AWESOME man! I thought my #28's were small, but eish, those take the cake! I didn't actually know that you could get smaller than #28 until now. Great stuff, thanks for sharing!

[ShaunF]

Easier said then done

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[Benja]

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My thoughts exactly
I showed this to a friend and he asked what was the point? I flies this small actually fishable? Although he doesnt flyfish (yet...) he does know a bit about papgooiing and was wondering how do you keep the hook set?