Your new best friend: The BFF caddis!

During my work on the caddis fly collection I started to free style a little with Snow Shoe hare material. I’ve not tied a lot with this material but when I finally managed to get my hands on a few feet in different material I really enjoyed it, this must be my favourite material for the moment!

Having tied a lot of CDC/deer sedge hogs I did something simillar with Snow shoe hare and hare’s dubbing, it turned out great. No it turned out more than great, I swear that this pattern has all the attributes to become my new absolute favorite caddis imitation!

Four small sections of Snow shoe hare, tied in on top of the shank and in between each section is natural hare’s dubbing (from the ear of the hare) in front of the last section of snow shoe hare is brown dyed hare’s dubbing. Once the fly is tied I brush out the underside by brushing it back/upwards, makes the hares dubbing blend nicely with the wing! And it is all tied on the Partridge TDH size 14!

How about it? Can this guy become your new Best Friend Forever? The BFF Caddis!!!

 

Caddis fly project 2013 – #16 & 17

Getting close to the goal of 20 caddis patterns, I gotta say it’s a cool collection of world class flies for caddis imitations this!

Number 16 – Rackelhanen
If te CDC and elk were simple with only two materials this is even simpler, only one material in the whole fly! A Swedish classic developed by Kenneth Boström many years ago it has caught so many big trouts and graylings in Scandinavia where it is one of the most known patterns. It is tied entirely out of poly yarn and when treated with flotant it will float forever!

 

Number 17 – The clown shoe caddis
Developed more recently the clown shoe caddis has all the attribute to make it a modern classic: it’s original, fishes well and features some profiled materials. Developed by Jay Zimmerman from the USA the fly was first named Boulder creek caddis but since being picked up by Umpaq fly company it is now named the Clown Shoe Caddis. Do you kn0w any pattern with more visibility than this one?

Caddis fly project 2013 – #14 & 15

Next pair line up! Here’s two real modern classics for you!

Number 14 – The CDC and elk
From dutch fly tyer Hans Weilenman comes a simple but oh so effective small caddis imitation. With only two materials it shows that simple is often the best for fishing flies!

 

Number 14 – The CDC and elk
From Austrian fly fisher Roman Moser comes another simple but effective pattern. This has become many peoples favorite caddis imitation and the good thing with this is that you can tie in both big and small sizes and it fishes equally well.

Caddis fly project 2013 – #10 & 11

The next two patterns is two patterns that are used in typical Swedish streams and rivers. One is one of the most known flies and one is a little forgotten gem.

Number 10 – The cone caddis
One of the simples caddis imitation you can tie but boy does it fish well! The Cone caddis (haven’t been able to find who designed it orginally), features a cone like wing of Elk hair and a thorax that are dubbed hare’s dubbing. Just grease up the who fly and fish it in smaller sizes and you are home safe!

Number 11 – Europea No.12
There was a time when EVERYONE in Sweden were fishing the “E-12”, it became one of those flies that were stuff of legends, rumours had it that in some waters the had forbidden the use of this fly because it was so effective…. if I remember it correctly there was a whole series of “Europea” flies that was introduced by a french fly company to the Scandinavian market some 30+ years ago. This was the twelfth fly in the series and by far the most popular. It features a couple of mallard flank feathers as wings.

Caddis fly project 2013 – #8 & 9

I’ve been tying more than I’ve had time to put up here. But I am gonna try and catch up with a post a day here. For number 8 and 9 I’ve chosen two patterns that I haven’t fished that much myself but both are regarded as top caddis patterns by the ones who fish them more than I’ve done.

Number 8 CDC bubble caddis
This is a pattern that comes from fly tying legend Oliver Edwards and his Masterclass DVD’s. What I’ve done with it is that I’ve used an additional CDC feather and also when I fold the feathers to create the bubble is that I keep them at different lenght to create a body in sections like this.

Number 9 – Brun’s caddis
A great pattern for caddis in size 16-18. From Norweigian André Brun this is a fly that has a tail and a wing from poly yarn. The body hackle is clipped on the underside which makes the fly sit low in the water film.

Caddis fly project 2013 – #6 & 7

 

 

Number 6 – the UH Sedge hog
A sedge hog is a traditional brittish (Irish?) pattern that uses sections of deer hair on the top of the shank to create a thick non sinkable caddis profile. On my version I wind CDC in a dubbing loop between each section of deer hair to create a more living pattern and to add even more boyance.

Number 7 – The X caddis
This pattern is made originally by Craig Matthews, and it is a good example of a minimalistic pattern that works really well! Imitating an emerging or stillborn caddis I have found it works best in size 16 i these colors. I’ve not nearly fished this one enough, so this comming season I am stocking up with more of these in my box!

 

Caddis fly project 2013 – #4 & 5

Here’s the next two caddis patterns that I’ve been tying for this winter project.

Number 4 – Elk Hair caddis
A true classic pattern from american Al Troth, most of us has fished this at one time or another. I like it in smaller sizes, this one here is size 16, and fish it more or less dead drift. Works really good in still water as well as in streams!

Number 5 – Craven’s muggly caddis
Here’s a pattern that has all the potential of becomming a modern classic dry fly. Buggy and boyant at the same time it has been one my absolute favourites the past three seasons and will most certainly remain in my box for many years!

Caddis fly project 2013 – #2 – 3

Number 2 & 3 in the Caddis fly project.

First is one of the most famous caddis imitations there is; the G&H Sedge! Developed by John Goddard and Cliff Henry many years ago it is used by trout fishermen all over the world. It mimics the silluette of a hatched caddis fly and it was originally menat to be fished actively to imitate the newly hatched caddis as it is swimming to shore, and I have had my best fishing with it when I fish it very actively. Sometimes I fish it across a current and then fish it actively on the swing and against the current to make it dive down underneath which can produce some nice takes!

Next one is a real personal favorite of mine, a pattern that imitates a fluttering caddis: Nalle Phu, by Simmo Lumme from Finland. Nalle Phu means Winnie the Poh in Swedish, and the original fly was tied in orange/yellow colours from which is supposedly got its name. Originally it had a wing made from bear hair, I use Poly yarn or any other syntetic material instead. This dark variant in size 14 has probably been my most successful variant! You can fish it exremy active on the surface, hold the rod high and make it skip across the current!

Caddis fly project 2013 – #1

I’ve started a fly tying project that will lead up to the Swedish fly fishing fair “Sportfiskemässan” in April. I wanted to have a better theme to my show this time after having done quite similar stuff for many years now. So I have undertaken a project of tying 20 different caddis fly imitations from around the world. Some of them are real favorites of mine and others are more or less new patterns recomended to me.

So I’ll be presenting them one by one here on the blog too, and I’ll start with one of the most well known caddis imitations here in Sweden. Streaking Caddis!

Created by Swedish fly tyers Lennart Bergkvist & Kenneth Boström some 30 years ago mainly as an imitation of the big Prygranea grandis caddis that can drive any trout crazy when it hatches! It’s also a very successful pattern in smaller sizes, and I’ve probably had more success in sizes 12-14 than the big ones.

Hook: Partridge YK12ST size 8
Thread: Veevus 6/0
Body: Olive seals fur
Head and wing: A big bunch natural deer hair