Favorite Caddis Dry?

jifigz said:
While I was fishing one of those "more famous streams in my area" (probably the same one you are talking about) someone told me about it. This was during April. I've never tied or fished one, though..
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Yes, and Alexander Springs is a lovely limestoner. A Missing Link stream if there ever was one. 😜
 
X caddis
Harrops caddis emerger
Harrops bubble caddis Jfjl02ozsae3y94nfag3Download 2Cdcbubbleback12
 
I like the above-mentioned CDC and elk pattern. Looks great and simple. I typically tie the original elk hair caddis (deer hair) but this looks better. The number of caddis-like insects that I see is incredible. I think this is why it's such a successful pattern. In the middle of winter, with snow on the ground, I see moth-like insects flying. In summer the number of different caddis-like (tent-wing) insects is incredible. It may imitate caddis but there's a heck of a lot of other things that it imitates as well.
 
Top fly overall for me. I could keep a caddis on all summer and catch trout I think, Regular deer hair caddis or x caddis ( shuck doesnt seem to matter) . I tie some very sparse with only 6 pieces of hair. Also just a body and a cdc wing trimmed flat. I keep some in tan and bright emerald green and a few with peacock bodies. I include soft hackles in my caddis box and Griffith Gnats too. as season progresses I do fish the bubble caddis as fish can get picky. I have them in 16 and 18 mostly. Mostly dead drift, occasionally a twitch helps and sometimes swing in a riffle depending what they want.
 
I use all of the above, but more often these Para caddis. I think it makes it easier to make a small caddis look right. The fly with the washed out shell pink antron post is around 8 years old.

Note the sparse wing, post near the middle and kept short, and undersized hackle. Especially good for dry dropper which I fish on a 3 inch tag, with heavier wings and more hackle.


Para Caddis
 
jifigz said:
There is a lot of love for the CDC & Elk it seems. I just tied one up using a size 12 hook, some CDC from a Canada goose that I shot at one point, and some elk hair.

Do they float well?
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As DC wrote above, the CDC and "Elk" rides low in the film. Also the CDC adds a lot of movement to the fly. One point not always stated is the tyer that developed the pattern, Hans Weilenmann, actually uses deer hair for the wing which makes it float better and look better.

If I were starving and my life depended on catching a fish and caddis were active, the fly I would select would be the LaFontaine Emergent Sparkle Pupa tied properly using the right materials and tying techniques. It just looks like dryer lint on a hook, but it really works.....

 
I like a fluttering caddis style, in many sizes and colors to match what is hatching
 
caddisflyer said:
I include soft hackles in my caddis box and Griffith Gnats too. as season progresses I do fish the bubble caddis as fish can get picky. I have them in 16 and 18 mostly. Mostly dead drift, occasionally a twitch helps and sometimes swing in a riffle depending what they want.
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There are a lot of flies that weren't specifically designed as caddis imitation that in fact imitate caddis pretty well, becasuse they skitter nicely. In addtion to the Griffith's Gnat, a Renegade or a Bi-Visible can be a great choice when fished downstream.

You mention soft hackles, but several winged wets work pretty well during a caddis hat. I've caught a lot of fish on a Lead Winged Coachman when fishing over dark colored caddis, and a Wickham's Fancy when fishing over lighted colored caddis.
 
The only caddis pattern I carry in my box is the CDC and Elk(deer hair). I've been using it since the mid-90's when Hans W. introduced it on the old FlyFish@ list. If you have a lot of extra CDC, and tie it on a size 6 or 8 hook it makes a decent crayfish pattern.
 
Elk hair Caddis and also a Caddis tied with CDC.
 
caddisflyer said:
Years ago Bob Clouser told me to grease up a deer hair caddis and end of tippet and skitter in riffles. I went up to Penns and had a 50+ fish day doing it.
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It's not a caddis but a similar solution...

I tie a fully palmered, heavily hackled thorax fly that is supposed to imitate a female Hendrickson spinner.

When the females are ovipositing I stand in the head of a riffle with a greased line & leader, hold my rod tip real high and let the fly bounce off the riffles...

I had an 80 fish day once on the Big Bushkill doing that trick but I didn't learn it from Bob, it was my solution to the problem of trying to imitate that fly behavior because dead drifting wasn't working.

Once I figured out the technique, I created a fly that worked better than a standard Hendrickson pattern.
 
caddisflyer said:
Years ago Bob Clouser told me to grease up a deer hair caddis and end of tippet and skitter in riffles. I went up to Penns and had a 50+ fish day doing it.
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I fished with Bob on Clarks one day and he used that technique. I thought I was the chosen one with my 29-30 fish. Stopped counting Bob's when he broke the 70 mark. 🤣. He is a very underrated caster. Tossing 50-60' casts on Clarks isn't easy but he made it look like it was
 
I like Henryville caddis, but I don't like tying them so simple CDC (like F Fly) or snowshoe hare caddis are normally on the end of my line.
 
Generally just a EHC most of the time. When the fish seem a bit more picky, an Iris Caddis. When they're super picky, a Brook's Hot Creek Caddis.
 
I have lately started tying caddis patterns with a poly wing. I feel it has the same appearance as CDC with more tolerance for fly floatants.
 
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