Caddis Fly

[thebassman]

Hey everyone!

So I am very new to fly tying. Like...brand new. I am having difficult tying a caddis dry fly.

Out of a dozen attempts tonight these are the two that turned out the best.

I have a feeling the bottom patterns wing casing is to long, but I could be wrong.

I was wondering if there was an easier caddis pattern I should try when learning or any tricks that I should know about. I have the habit of crowding the eye of the hook on these big time. These are a size 16 fyi. The hackle used is from a whiting 100 pack of size 16. Looking for feedback on how to improve. Is there a particular style of caddis that you prefer over the others?

What other dry fly patterns should I focus on as a beginner?

 

[NickR]

They both look fine and that bottom one will get some eats... would make a good imitation of a Yellow Sally. If they are on the water believe me you will be happy if you have that fly in your box. Tie more just like that.

 

[jeremymcon]

Yup I think they look good. Are you stacking the elk hair before. You tie it in? That could help a bit. On the top one - if you use fewer thread wraps and make them tighter you could flare the cut ends of the elk hair to form sort of a head. That's what you usually see on EHC. Not that it makes any difference at all as far as catching fish.

The wing on the bottom one is a bit long for a caddis, but still very fishable. I like that style of caddis - with all the hackle at the front the fly is great for skittering across the surface of the water without sinking. Plus I feel like those ones are more likely to land right side up (for me and my casting/tying) than the standard EHC.

 

[SBecker]

I prefer a cdc and elk. It is super simple to tie and floats like a cork. Not only do I wrap the body with cdc, but I put 2 or 3 feathers behind the deer hair and trim.

http://midcurrent.com/videos/tying-cdc-elk-fly/

 

[ebroesicke]

love the henryville special, but it is not the most durable.

 

[FrequentTyer]

Those flys look pretty good! Don't worry about the wing length. The naturals have wings longer than their bodies. I can't help you with easier. The cdc and elk that Becker suggested is easier in that it has no hackle, and it is a very popular pattern. I don't think they float very well and personally haven't had much luck with them, but I can't argue with their popularity. I've been tying the chuck caddis shown below using ground hog for the wing and really like the looks of the fly. Haven't had a chance to fish them yet though. One thing that I think makes a good caddis dry is to only hackle the front like your second fly and the fly below. Caddis are clumsy on the water, so a full palmered hackle may not give the best profile. Tie a few of each and see what works for you. One of the great things about fishing in PA is that you get plenty of opportunity to try caddis patterns.
Mike.

 

[dc410]

I think your flies look real nice for some of your first caddis flies. Deer hair isn't the easiest material to work with. Your deer hair wings seem to be sitting up on top of the hook very nicely. Length is easy to fix if you feel the need to make an adjustment. The "crowding the eye" issue will improve as you tie more flies. Keep up the good work!

Mike, I really like the chuck caddis. I'm sure that fly will produce for you. Gonna have to sneak out in the backyard with my bow and get some groundhog fur once spring finally arrives!

 

[PAgeologist]

A word of advice i was given on here is if you palmer the hackle throughout the body to trim the bottom short to get a better profile.

 

[jeremymcon]

One pattern that can be a little easier to tie is a poly wing caddis. Get some tan poly yarn (ep fibers/cto hair/widow's Web all work too) and use that as the wing. It's easy to tie in, and you can trim it to shape /length. I like it because poly yarn floats really well to. Use a big one for a dry and dropper and it just pops back up out of the water if it goes under in a riffle or something.

 

[thebassman]

Could I just trim the wing of the bottom fly, or is it a "no no" to cut the hair coming off the back??

 

[Volksnurse]

Don't cut the wing after its on. You'll lose the taper in the deer hair and it'll look like a frankencaddis. That fly is fine. Shorten up the wing a little on the next one but that bottom caddis will hunt.

 

[GenCon]

You got alot of really good advise above. So I will not add anything to that. I wil in fact say though for some of your first attempts they are pretty good.

One more thing to Volks Nurse. "Frankencaddis" that made my morning!

GenCon

 

[jeremymcon]

Oops. Cto fibers should be Congo fibers above. Stupid autocorrect.

 

[McSneek]

Bassman - good start. Wings could be just a little shorter. Tighter wraps on the elk hair will spread that head out a little more. My main suggestion is a little shorter body on both flies. Caddis bodies aren't that long and the wing extends pretty far past the body. Start the body around the barb of the hook.