Fly Tying- Roy Christie’s Reverse Parachute Fly

Posted on by Marc Fauvet

just like their creator Roy Christie, born on the wee ‘Putting back the rocks’ burn * , these very much ‘out of the box’ flies are an ingenious alternative to the more classical patterns.
i’m still in awe with this hackling method. not only does it leave  a perfect ‘puffy’  and buggy imprint on the water’s surface but they’re also as durable as imaginable. to prove the point, at shows, Roy throws them on the ground and stomps and grinds them under his cowboy boot !
other parts of the fly, specially the hook, might get a little wear and tear from this rather extreme exercise but the hackle at least always come back in very fishable form. as we see below and on the sbs, the hackle is wound then later entrapped by the monofilament support. in actual terms, even though the feather’s stem is still there, the strong mono takes over as the major support of the fibers.
designed as emergers, the abdomen/tail section lies below the surface, further helping the degreased leader tippet sink and stay under the surface where it’s most discreet to the fish. f’n brilliant…
i could go on and on but i’ll let Roy explain all this and more on the video below.

so, to make this lovely little number-
 painted by Jeff Kennedy

you’ll need to start by making this,

then this,

and this.

sure, there’s a few more steps before, during and after and to find them you can click HERE for another great step by step via UK Fly Dressing

and if that doesn’t do it for ya, here’s Roy himself tying and explaining how to make this amazing fly. enjoy !

a few in various colors and variances from one of my boxes. some where tied by Roy, some by myself.

don’t leave home without ’em !

*
burn 2  (bûrn)

n. Scots

A small stream; a brook.[Middle English, from Old English burna; see bhreu- in Indo-European roots.]

8 thoughts on “Fly Tying- Roy Christie’s Reverse Parachute Fly”

  1. Roy has tied at my Branch of the Flydressers Guild on many occasions and he is a superb tyer:)
    All his patterns have been well-thought through and they all work!
    He is a really genuine nice-guy and will always take the time to chat – if you get the chance to see him tie, do it:)

    Darrell

  2. hi Darrel !
    Roy and i have met several times, tying together at fairs or at gatherings, including at Killyleagh where we met. we even went fishing together on his mythic burn in No. Ireland. 😎

    i checked out the Flydressers Guild site and it’s kind of empty right now… looking forward to some content ! 😉

    cheers,
    marc

  3. Roys reverse parachutes are a joy to fish, always worth having a few in your box for those fussy trout who just wont seem to come to anything else. Roy recomends that a small amount of flotant is applied just to the hackle and that the body is allowed to soak water, degrease the leader and you truely do have a fly that hangs into the surface film like a natural and with little to no leader glare or surface pattern to spook fish its no wonder its fast becoming a firm favorite in my flybox. Worth noteing as well that Roy makes his own dubbin for these flys and like all good flytying legends nothing seems to come as close to Roys own tied flies when it comes to fish catching ability! Truely one of the UKs flytying greats whos passion for fishing and the art of tying flies has shaped his life, great to see him now back home in retirement living next to the river he worked so hard to save when he was just a boy, we can only hope he continues to share his passion and insight with us for many years to come 🙂

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