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> > Does the extremely easily tied f-fly perform as well as the parachute adams?



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FflyMarch 20th, 2016, 4:23 am
Sweden

Posts: 4		Hello everyone!

I'm about to start tying the dry flies I need this season for mostly trout, grayling and arctic char.
I want to keep my flybox really refined with one superb pattern for caddis dries and one for mayflies, midges and so on.

For the dry caddis it was an easy choice based on everything I've seen on the internet: Elk Hair caddis.

For the mayfly it seems like the Parachute Adams is widely regarded as one of the best patterns.
But then we have the F-fly... With the really nice perk of being so easy and fast to tie. I love that.

So for mayflies I was thinking if I really need the parachute adams when I got the f-fly tied up in various sizes? Does the parachute adams perform in a different way that the f-fly can't match?

Thanks!
WbranchMarch 20th, 2016, 10:48 am
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		What in the world is an "f-fly"?

Edit: I googled "f-fly" and it to the gentleman that would like to use it as mayfly imitation in my opinion it is a caddis fly as there is no tail, and only two CDC feather tips tied in down wing style.

If you want to use this very simplistic fly to imitate a mayfly you should at least tie in a few tail fibers and lift the wing to at least a 45 degree angle to more closely replicate the wing of a mayfly.

http://www.flyfishsd.com/tying-the-f-fly/
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
FflyMarch 20th, 2016, 11:42 am
Sweden

Posts: 4		The f-fly is a very famous fly here in Sweden and in pretty much of all of Europe I think. I don't know if the pattern is not that common in the US since you've never heard of it.

I've fished the f-fly dead drifting in slow water during baetis hatches, where the grayling refused caddis dries and even beadheaded nymphs. To me that experience was a sign that it was absolutely taken for a mayfly. Every rise was also calm, not splashy caddis takes.

Yeah, I thought about adding tail fibers on some of the f-flys so I'll definitely do that.

I was just curious to see if anyone had experienced the parachute adams being superior to the f-fly in any circumstances.

Cheers
WbranchMarch 20th, 2016, 12:22 pm
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		Until you made your post I had never heard of the f-fly. I am predominantly a dry fly fisherman so I would suggest to you that the f-fly is not well known in the USA or if it is known by some it is not advertised very much as I look at many fly fishing and fly tying magazines.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
RogueratMarch 20th, 2016, 6:01 pm
Posts: 472		Welcome, Ffly!

Interesting fly, stone-simple and minutes to wrap one. I had to Google it and found lots of European sites listing the F fly, only one in N America- a Pacific NW site noted this pattern.

As for the P Adams out-fishing it, I'd guess that's subjective- right water, right presentation, just the right fish on the right day and things click...

Anyway, just out of curiosity I'm going to tie up some F flies and see what the trout say.

Roguerat

'Less is more...'

Ludwig Mies Vande Rohe
TroutnutMarch 20th, 2016, 11:41 pm
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2737		The F fly is popular in Slovenia, too. A friend there loaned me one to catch some nice rising fish when none of my go-to U.S. flies were working. It was very effective on finicky fish.

I had a very hard time keeping it afloat after the first fish slimed it, but I have that problem with all CDC flies. If you like fishing CDC, the F fly is a great one.
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
TNEALMarch 21st, 2016, 8:46 am
GRAYLING. MICHIGAN

Posts: 278		I had never heard of this one either, so I did a bit of poking around.This fly might float for a a bit on the right water conditions. As a commercial tyer, I would like to have an exclusive on this fly. I'm pretty sure it could be done in under a minute, making a ten dozen day a very part time endeavor.
WbranchMarch 21st, 2016, 10:34 am
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		Jason wrote;

but I have that problem with all CDC flies.


I've seen you make a similar comment before relative to having issues with CDC floating. I think it has everything to do with the quality of the CDC you are using. I use CDC for most of my dry fly wings and for most of my caddis dry flies and they float very well with just one or two false casts.

If it gets slimy after catching a fish I wash it off in the river, then blot it dry, dip it in some desiccant like Frog's Fanny, shake or blow off the excess desiccant and I'm ready to fish again. If you PM me your mailing address I will send you some of my premium CDC so you can try it before buying a bag of your own.

I recently posted where I buy it. There is a fly shop in Last Chance, ID called "Trouthunters". Rene Harrop sells some of his flies out of that fly shop. They sell both natural and dyed CDC in small bags or 1/4 ounce bags for $17.50. A large bag can last me almost a year.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
RleePMarch 21st, 2016, 12:33 pm
NW PA - Pennsylvania's Glacial Pothole Wonderland

Posts: 398		Although I'd never heard of the F-fly until I read this thread, I'd probably be inclined to choose the Parachute Adams. I don't know that the Adams is the better of the two flies. As others have said, that probably depends more on the type of water being fished and what insects happen to be about, etc. I just don't like CDC, period It isn't really a question of supposed CDC quality differences between sources. I'd likely feel the same if the duck himself plucked it off his arse, bagged it and gave it to me. My experience with CDC has been that it requires more fiddle-farting around with when I could be fishing and that I haven't found an application where CDC is used that I can't adequately cover with snowshoe or a variety of different synthetics, all of which seem to require less fiddle-farting around with than CDC.

But that's just me. YMMV...

Now back down in the basement and make more pike flies on 4/0 hooks!

TNEALMarch 21st, 2016, 3:06 pm
GRAYLING. MICHIGAN

Posts: 278		I would guess it takes quite a bit of cdc to float a 4/0 hook....
FflyMarch 21st, 2016, 3:56 pm
Sweden

Posts: 4		Thanks for the welcoming Roguerat!

I’m amazed that a pattern can be so well known in Europe and apparently not in the US in this age of information. I guess not everything has reached everyone just yet hehe.

I’ve caught trout and grayling on it that were selectively feeding on mayflies or stoneflies, and of course it is also taken as a caddis. Also a great midge pattern. And if you factor in the tying time and ease it is really a contestant for one of the best dry flies out there.

Interesting that you, Jason, brought up the problem with the fly getting slimed up, it is true, but this year I’m going to tie a version of it called the improved f-fly.

The improved f-fly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLaPnujqkRM

I hope the tweaks in this version of it will make this superb fly even better.
WbranchMarch 21st, 2016, 4:07 pm
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		RleeP wrote;

I haven't found an application where CDC is used that I can't adequately cover with snowshoe or a variety of different synthetics


The tips of hig quity CDC make gorgeous up right wings for any dry fly. I use natural dark dun for my Hendicksons, Red Quills, Cornuta, and light gray for my Sulfurs, white for Trico duns, barred tan (I use an indelible black marker to make horizontal barring across the feather) for March Browns.

The first fly is a #14, the 2nd a #18, and the 3rd a #22.





Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
PlanettroutMarch 22nd, 2016, 10:35 am
Los Angeles, CA / Pullman, WA

Posts: 53		The current Spring Issue of the Flyfishing & Tying Journal,here in the U.S., has two articles on tying both mayflies and caddis patterns with sparse CDC wings. The "Student" is the Mayfly pattern and "The Pupil" is the Caddis pattern. Both originated with Frank F. Johnson, a Billings , MT guide and tier and appear on pages 38-45.

I have been tying RS2 patterns with sparse CDC wings for years. This is an Epeorus Albertae (Pink Lady) pattern for the Madison River:

< />

...and this is a variant on Tracy Peterson's "Little Caddis Thing" which, in it's original design,is created using CDC for the abdomen and wing:

< />

Tracy, who quotes Rene Harrop, says that most tiers do not use enough CDC in the construction of CDC patterns and hence, their frustration with the seeming limit on the pattern's ability to float after being "slimed".There are a host of suggestions for drying CDC patterns, including that neat trick with the rubber band. I prefer Marc Petitjean CDC over CDC from The Trouthunter...

Hope you find a simple CDC Caddis pattern that brings lot of fish to hand :-)


PT/TB
Daughter to Father: "How many arms do you have, how many fly rods do you need?"

http://planettrout.wordpress.com/
EntomanMarch 22nd, 2016, 1:34 pm
Northern CA & ID

Posts: 2604		The best cdc by far comes from wild ducks. Of course, you can't buy it, you have to shoot it... ;)

I never use desiccant on this material as it tends to get caught in the fiberious feather and ruins it by degrading the natural oils over time. Best approach is to slap the fly on the water with multiple short false casts (away from the water you're fishing), followed by blotting and a few brisk lung blasts. This method is far superior at ridding fish slime than just swishing the fly. You are good to go for several fish. Eventually the fly will get too soaked for this to work. When that happens, change flies and let the used one dry on a patch. By the time you are fighting a losing battle with drying the second fly the first fly is ready to go again. Besides, you should retie your fly after several good fish anyway, so no time is lost.
"It's not that I find fishing so important, it's just that I find all other endeavors of Man equally unimportant... And not nearly as much fun!" Robert Traver, Anatomy of a Fisherman
WbranchMarch 23rd, 2016, 1:44 am
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		I've never had the need to feel the Trouthunter CDC was not providing the floatation I desired to seek out another vendor. Prior to locating the Trouthunter CDC I bought CDC from many different vendors none of who provided a feather approaching the density of barbules that the Trouthunter provides.

I do believe in winging with CDC that more is better. I use three tips for my dun wings and three for my caddis wings. I discard the remainder of the feather. I don't know if it matters but for the dun wings I lay two of the feathers down on my table with the curve facing up and lay the third over the top of the other two with the curve facing down. Then I align the feathers so the three tips are even and tie them in.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
Kschaefer3March 23rd, 2016, 10:13 am
St. Paul, MN

Posts: 376
The best cdc by far comes from wild ducks. Of course, you can't buy it, you have to shoot it... ;)

I never use desiccant on this material as it tends to get caught in the fiberious feather and ruins it by degrading the natural oils over time. Best approach is to slap the fly on the water with multiple short false casts (away from the water you're fishing), followed by blotting and a few brisk lung blasts. This method is far superior at ridding fish slime than just swishing the fly. You are good to go for several fish. Eventually the fly will get too soaked for this to work. When that happens, change flies and let the used one dry on a patch. By the time you are fighting a losing battle with drying the second fly the first fly is ready to go again. Besides, you should retie your fly after several good fish anyway, so no time is lost.


I duck hunted a lot in college, but didn't tie flies. It's quite a shame as I could have had bags and bags of cdc and othe goodies.
GutcutterMarch 24th, 2016, 11:22 am
Pennsylvania

Posts: 470		Tim
In the caddis photo, I think I see a CDC feather base. I do that, too and it seems that there is a lot of fiber density (more buoyancy?) in that part of the feather.

Also, I agree with Kurt that the silica powder desiccants shouldn't be used, except as a last resort i.e. that fly is getting every fish to sip it and it's the last fly of it's type/size/color that you have in your box 'cause you lost all the rest of 'em...
All men who fish may in turn be divided into two parts: those who fish for trout and those who don't. Trout fishermen are a race apart: they are a dedicated crew- indolent, improvident, and quietly mad.

-Robert Traver, Trout Madness
WbranchMarch 24th, 2016, 9:42 pm
York & Starlight PA

Posts: 2733		The experts have spoken.
Catskill fly fisher for fifty-five years.
TroutnutMarch 29th, 2016, 10:37 pm
Administrator
Bellevue, WA

Posts: 2737
Best approach is to slap the fly on the water with multiple short false casts (away from the water you're fishing),


I've never heard of that technique. I always try to crack the fly like a whip at the end of the tippet to dry it out. It seems kind of counter-intuitive to slap it on the water, but does it work a lot better?
Jason Neuswanger, Ph.D.
Troutnut and salmonid ecologist
TaxonMarch 30th, 2016, 4:47 am
Site Editor
Royse City, TX

Posts: 1350		Jason-

My experience has been similar to yours with regard to cdc getting slimed, so I have also avoided its use. :-)
Best regards,
Roger Rohrbeck
www.FlyfishingEntomology.com
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