From Utah’s Fly Corner

The hackle stacker is great dry fly pattern. It was devised by Bob Quigley. The fly utilizes a paraloop technique by winding the hackle around a post and then pulling them over the top of thorax. The pattern can be a bit of a bitch to tie at first but once you do a couple you will have it down. You can also utilize a gallows tool for this task but I find it as easy to just use my fingers. So lets tie one up, the tutorial is of an adams, but this pattern can be tied to match any mayflies.

The following is Paul Fedeles’ variant.

Materials

• Hook – Size 12 dry
• Thread – Light olive  14/0
• Tail – Amber Z-lon (shuck)
• Body – Adams grey dubbing super fine
• Hackles – One brown hackle, One grizzly hackle
• Parapost – 4lb maxima Mono

Instructions

1. Cover front half of the hook with thread
2. Tie in the tail- trim at a body length.
3. Dub a body of Adams super fine grey dubbing to the centre of the hook shank.
4. Tie in the hackles good sides up. Grizzly going towards eye, Brown going back.
5. Make a post using a loop of monofilament line from 6 cm and tie it in front of the Hackles. Point the ends of the mono towards the eye of the hook
6. Using a very thin bit of grey dubbing, with one wrap behind the mono and then to the eye. Bring the thread back to the base of the post. Leave a tiny amount of dubbing around thread for finish.

Posting the hackles

1. Right handed people use you right pointy finger to tighten the loop. “Lefties you’re on your own”. I am guessing use the left pointy finger.
2. Wind the hackles up the post in a clock-wise direction if the tail of the fly is 12 o’clock. Lefties, I guess maybe counter-clockwise Wrap up as high as distance to hook eye.
3. Hold the post tight with the finger and use you thumb and next finger to hold the hackles to pass on to your left hand.
4. Then wrap the hackles back down the post.
5. Take finger out of the loop, don’t let go of the hackle.
6. Wrap thread under and over the hackle and hook, twice.
7. Then two more turns around eye to secure them, before cutting the hackles.
8. Tighten loop and pull hackle fibres back and up. Pull all the hackles fibres towards the rear of the post.
9. Pull the post down and pinch wrap thread over the loop at the eye. Pull loop down and tighten thread.
10. Pull everything back and wind over to lock them in.
11. Whip finish, cut loop off.

View/download tying instructions