Partridge Treacle Parkins Soft Hackle

[letumgo]

Partridge Treacle Parkin Soft Hackle
Hook - Daiichi Model 1710/Size 14
Thread - 6/0 UNI-Thread (Black)
Tail - Peruvian Wool (Yellow)
Body - Peacock Herl (reinforced in a thread dubbing loop)
Hackle - Hungarian Partridge Hackle (prepared and tyed in by the tip)

This fly is a simple variation of a classic soft hackle pattern.


Additional background on the "Treacle Parkin" ("A Guide to North Country Flies" by Mike Harding/Page 101)

"A famous North Country grayling pattern, though it seems just as attractive to trout, particularly when there is some colour in the water. Parkin is the treachle-flavoured cake made around Bonfire Night by generations of Lancashire mothers. The fly is usually tied dry using a ginger cock hackle. This fly is a killer on dull days and when fish are lying deep with little sign of movement on the surface. It is just possible that the fish mistake this fly for a piece of cake."

Mr Harding lists the recipe as follows:
Thread - Pearsall's Black 9
Hook - Down-eyed Wet 14-18
Body - Peacock Herl
Hackle - Greenwell or light furnace hen
Tag - Yellow or orange tapestry wool

[GlassJet]

Hi Ray, Parkin cake.... that takes me back a bit, to cold autumn evenings and collecting wood for the bonfire night fire... When it would invariably rain! And packets of sparklers and our very own box of fireworks. And scaring old aunts with 'bangers' and, what were they called? Little demons was it? Can you still get those?

Anyway, nice fly Ray - interesting to compare with the Roger Woolley flies I'm looking at at the moment. You say reinforce with dubbing loop? Do you mean you just form the loop, then wrap the herl(s)? in and out of the loop?

cheers,
Andrew

[daringduffer]

Very nice, Ray. You are outstanding at the vise.

dd

[garyk]

Hello Ray:

Thanks for posting this fly. I'll be tying a few up this evening. Maybe with the orange tail.

Cheers,
Gary

[William Anderson]

Ray, that is really nice. That body profile is really nice. cool tag.

w

[Old Hat]

Great fly Ray, I was just tying up a few of the Treacles and Red Tags a couple days ago.

[letumgo]

Andrew - I use a dubbing loop to reinforce the peacock herl. The technique basically forms a peacock chenille which can be wrapped forward to form the body of the fly. The resulting body is very durable and is nicely uniform. I learned the technique from Denny Richards (famous stillwater tyer).

Here is the technique (it sounds complicated, but it is very easy once you get the hang of it)
1) Tye in four or five strands of peacock herl (green strands)
2) Form a dubbing loop with the tying thread (red loop)
3) Pass dubbing twister tool behind the right side of the loop (R) and then up thru the center of the thread loop, passing the tool in front of the left side loop (L)
4) Rotate the dubbing twister and bring the hook behind the peacock herl and left side of the dubbing loop (L).
5) Pull the point of the dubbing tool back thru the thread dubbing loop making sure that the point goes in front of the right hand side of the loop (R)

Hopefully this diagram will help explain the technique.

[hankaye]

Howdy Ray,
Thanks for the CARE package of tying materials.

Are you trying to say that with the dubbing hook you simply reach behind the right side of the loop to snag the hurl and the Left side of the loop then on the return you grab the Right side? If so, then what do ya do with it???
just askin'...
hank

[GlassJet]

Hi Ray, thanks for that. Putting the herl through the loop looks a much more secure way of doing things. If you saw the Rough Bumble I put up the other day, I twisted a couple of strands of herl around a single strand of tying silk - will have a play seeing what it ties like using this loop method.

Not the most robust material, peacock herl!

cheers,
Andrew.

[letumgo]

Hank - Your description is accurate and succinct. You can be my interpreter (editor) in the future. The next step in the tying process, is to twist the materials together and then wrap them forward, forming the body of the fly.

Andrew - I have tried putting the herl through the center of the loop, but found the results are not as good. The method described above has the advantage of securely trapping the herl fibers against the bottom of the loop. I find it much faster and get better results with the method shown in the diagram.