Copper John and Bob -- bottom parachutes

[MarkH]

I've tied copper johns (or variants--I don't do the epoxy part); what's a copper bob? In the few pictures I've seen seem, they same except for added rubber legs. Is that it?

While I'm at it, is there a reason, beside the difficulty, that tiers don't tie parchutes with the hackle beneath, a la D. Martin. Seems a more logical position. With up-eyed hooks there's only the hook point making trouble, and melting the post back (I had trouble with that and just clipped my attemps). Wouldn't that position place the fly body better in the surface film? TNX

[Tony]

I think it would depend on what you are trying to accomplish, high floater vs flush, I prefer my hackle on top it allows the body to float flush in the surface film more like an acutual insect, plus I believe the fish could mistake it for any number of stages of insect life, emerger to adult when tied this way. I'm not sure I see any benefit to the hackle being on the underside.
tony

[MarkH]

Tony,

I've been fooling more with it and having trouble--the hook point is a major obstical, as if tying parachutes wasn't hard enough. It had seemed to me that putting the hackle under the hook body rather than on top of it was more like the natural. It shouldn't lift the fly the way regular wound hackle does, but support it, which top parachute doesn't much do. But the procedure is complicated and difficult since wings are on one side and the hackle on the other. And burning back the post is harder than I thought.