The Hendrickson and Red Quill hatch marks the start of serious mayfly action here in the East. The Hendrickson begins its emergence at a time of the year when trout begin to feed a little more aggressively and anglers are getting desperate for some good dry fly action. In this tying tutorial, I'll walk through how I tie a Hendrickson dun in a parachute style. The parachute style is my favorite type of dry fly to fish due to its versatility. It sits low enough in the water to entice weary or pressured trout yet has good enough floatability to suspend a nymph off of the back for a dry-dropper setup.
The Beer
With every Bugs n' Brews video I like to feature a different beer that I have while tying. There are few things more relaxing than enjoying a good brew on a Friday night while whipping up a couple of bugs! In this video I cracked open a beer from Noble Stein Brewing Company called Gone for 5 Years (and counting). This is a West-Coast style triple IPA that comes in at a whopping 10% ABV. Gone for 5 Years (and counting) is a piney, earthy, hop forward beer with huge aroma and flavor!
Material List
Hook - #14 Dry Fly hook
Tail - coq-de-leon
Dubbing - Super Fine Dry Fly dubbing (Hendrickson pink)
Wing / Post - Bonnie Macramé Craft Cord (light grey or blue dun color)
Hackle - medium dun (Whiting 4-pack of half capes - good deal)
Step-By-Step Tying Instructions
Step 1
Place a size 14 dry fly hook in the jaws of your tying vise and start your thread. Wind your thread back to about the barb of the hook.
Step 2
Tie in your tail. I use coq-de-leon but you can also use a few fibers from your hackle. To flair out your tail, take your thread underneath the fibers and pull taught. Wind your thread back up to the 1/3 mark of the hook.
Step 3
Dub the body using a Hendrickson colored dubbing.
Step 4
Tie in the post using a blue dun colored poly yarn. I use bonnie braid macramé yarn. I tie in my post by first tying in the poly yarn in the center, perpendicular to the hook shank, similar to a spinner wing. Next bring both ends together and take a few wraps of thread at the base to marry the two strands, forming a post.
Step 5
Tie in your hackle. Take a few wraps up the post to create some rigidity. This makes it a little easier to wrap your hackle around the post.
Step 6
Dub the front 1/3 of the hook.
Step 7
Wrap the hackle around the post and capture with your thread.
Step 8
Bring your thread up to the eye of the hook and tie off with a few half-hitches.
The Hendrickson in a parachute style.
If you prefer video tutorials, check out our YouTube video on how to tie the Hendrickson.
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