How to Tie a Purple Haze Dry Fly

Tips for tying a Purple Haze Dry Fly including a materials list, instructional video, and much more. Improve your fly tying skills here.

The Purple Haze is a popular dry fly across the US and around the world. Similar to a Parachute Adams, the Purple Haze is easy to see and effective when trout are feeding on Mayflies. Follow our detailed instructions to tie this pattern with a parachute as Jared takes us through the steps needed to create this small, effective pattern.

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Materials:

We've put together a kit that contains all the materials you need to tie this exact fly pattern.

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Hook: Daiichi 1170, Size: 12

Thread: Uni 8/0, Purple

Wing: Hareline Variant Neck Hackle, Brown & Grizzly

Body: Hareline Stripped Goose Biots, Purple

Body: Hareline Ice Dub, Purple

Parachute: Hareline Para Post Wing, Yellow

Tail: Hareline Woolly Bugger Saddle Hackle, Coachman Brown

Step One:

Tie in your tail. Collect two strands of Variant Neck Hackle (one brown, one grizzly) and break off a few pieces from both feathers. Tie in the hackle after cutting the butts so it extends 3/4 the length of the hook shank.

Step Two:

Cut one Goose Biot and tie it in by the tip at the bend of the hook. Wrap the thread forward toward the eye of the hook and leave it about an eye's length behind the eye. Grab the Goose Biot with a pair of hackle pliers and wrap it forward. Tie it off near the front of the hook.

Step Three:

Tie in your parachute post. Double over the Para Post Wing, tie it down, and wrap the thread up the parachute to create an upward-facing parachute. Keep tension on the thread as you wrap up.

Step Four:

Grab two hackles, again brown and grizzly, and strip the butts. After stripping the butts, tie the hackle in on the near side of the hook shank and wrap them up the parachute post so they're laying at the same angle as the parachute. After tying in the hackle, trim the butts.

Step Five:

Create the thorax by dubbing the body of the fly. Create a dubbing noodle with some purple Ice Dub and wrap the noodle around the base of the parachute and forward to the eye of the hook. End with your thread wrapped around the Para Post and hanging on the side closest to you.

Step Six:

Wrap the hackle to create the wing of the fly. Wrap them down the Para Post and tie them off by going under the hackle and over the stems of the remaining hackle. Try not to capture too much hackle when tying off. Trim the excess hackle.

Step Seven:

Instead of a whip finish, finish the fly with superglue. Place superglue on your thread and wrap around the Para Post being sure not to catch too many hackle fibers.

Step Eight:

Finally, trim the Para Post to size and trim any errant hackle.

And that's the Purple Haze. The Purple Haze is a great pattern for spooky fish in large water or fish that have seen an Adams too many times. This Mayfly imitation will float well, be highly visible, and create a buggy profile in the water. Happy dry fly fishing!

Questions?

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