Getting crafty.

[gfen]

The stream I fish at has a really prolific caddis hatch, and I decided today while staring at a pile of junk to try and think outside the box. I've already made a successful version using tiny rubber tubing to create segmentation (and a dismal failure where I used the caddis green ice dubbing in lieu of peacock herl soft hackles).

So, barring the awful tying skills on display, do any of these have merit?

v1.0 ... Looked like too much stuff at the bend of the hook, but I thought it looked promising. So, we go onto....

v1.1 ... Huh, I like that, but this gives me an idea. First up, let's try to replicate it with a different colour...

.
v1.2 ... No sir, don't like this material,or colour.

v2.0 ... Look, caddis pupa or whatever they're called seem like a good idea, but mine always float, and all the time. I thought these were supposed to ride at depth, not in the film. Ergo, this should float along til it swings, then rapidly move on up. I like this, alot, its a good idea, we'll see how it works in practice.

v2.1 ... This I like, alot. Between this at the refined larva, I think I may have something here.

 

[Fishidiot]

I'd say you're definitely gettin crafty....and likely with impending good results.
Caddis pupae are challenging nymphs and attempting to tie new versions with non-typical materials, as you're doing, ought to be a worthwhile experiment. How do you suppose Gary Lafontaine came up with his very unique pattern? For my caddis pupae, I like a black bead head for weight. Any picked out, scruffy fur that gets a halo-like affect with light shining thru it should work well as a body, I prefer green and tan. Combine these with some soft, webby, hackle with a mottled pattern such as partridge usually does the trick. The only contructive criticism I'd offer is don't go any larger on the bead on the first two, you'll close the hook and miss strikes (hits on caddis pupae are often slashing and aggressive). There's a reason that traditional wet flies are usually tied thin and sparse - in part this makes for a better hooking fly when fish hit aggressive. The bottom fly doesn't have this problem. If you look at caddis pupae they're rather slender and delicate and many pupae flies are too thick and bulky IMO. I like the bottom fly best. You might actually take the long overwing and tie it under the body as an underwing. If you look at caddis pupae, their long legs stream back from mainly under the body.
Good ties though.

 

[gfen]

Looks like the first picture didn't link right, there was an extra bead and it really closed the gap.

I'd thought about doing a chenille or mono body that just held the beads, but we're moving away from simplicity at that point.

Maybe next revision will include some legs beard style along the bottom.