Fly of the Month: The Bubble Caddis
- Category Fly Tying
- Thread starter johnjohns45
- Start date
By Matt Kern (mkern)
I created this fly for a few reasons. Mainly because I never seemed to catch fish on caddis, but I knew how abundant they were in most streams. I heard people rave about LaFontaine’s Sparkle Pupa all the time, but didn’t really like the fly itself. I read/heard how the antron formed a bubble much like the natural as the fly ascends to the surface to hatch. I definitely wanted to recreate that bubble on the caddis pupa, but try and be a little more “realistic” (well as realistic as feathers and fur can get.) So I decided to create my own version.
Little did I know that the material that I selected to represent the bubble (the vinyl tubing) would do more than look like trapped air. It also acts like a bumper on a car. It allows the fly to bounce along the bottom, but there is a better feature yet… The softness of the tubing gives the angler another second to set the hook. The tubing is soft and the fish tend to chew it longer, or not reject it as soon.
I almost always use one of these flies in a tandem rig. It can have a bunch of weight to get the rest of the flies down and catches fish every outing for me. I will say, in the “non-peek” caddis seasons I tend to hook smaller fish, but the opposite is true in early Spring and in the Fall. The color scheme I show here is not the only one. You can tie many variations as well, like yellow-bellied, tan-bellied, cream-bellied, etc. There is also very little wasted materials with this fly. This is a fly I like to use year round.
Matt started fly tying and fishing about 10 years ago. He has worked at E. Hille's back in 2006 - 2007 as a custom fly tyer and rod builder. Matt offers a fly tying club at the school where he teaches.
Little did I know that the material that I selected to represent the bubble (the vinyl tubing) would do more than look like trapped air. It also acts like a bumper on a car. It allows the fly to bounce along the bottom, but there is a better feature yet… The softness of the tubing gives the angler another second to set the hook. The tubing is soft and the fish tend to chew it longer, or not reject it as soon.
I almost always use one of these flies in a tandem rig. It can have a bunch of weight to get the rest of the flies down and catches fish every outing for me. I will say, in the “non-peek” caddis seasons I tend to hook smaller fish, but the opposite is true in early Spring and in the Fall. The color scheme I show here is not the only one. You can tie many variations as well, like yellow-bellied, tan-bellied, cream-bellied, etc. There is also very little wasted materials with this fly. This is a fly I like to use year round.
Matt started fly tying and fishing about 10 years ago. He has worked at E. Hille's back in 2006 - 2007 as a custom fly tyer and rod builder. Matt offers a fly tying club at the school where he teaches.
Very nice fly. I like the looks of it and will probably tie a few myself. I have been messing with a few caddis patterns the last few years and also can't find one that I'm too happy with. Everyone claims fame to lafontaine, but I just have never been too successful with it. Hopefully this pattern will help me out.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Very nice fly. I like the looks of it and will probably tie a few myself. I have been messing with a few caddis patterns the last few years and also can't find one that I'm too happy with. Everyone claims fame to lafontaine, but I just have never been too successful with it. Hopefully this pattern will help me out.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Very nice fly. I like the looks of it and will probably tie a few myself. I have been messing with a few caddis patterns the last few years and also can't find one that I'm too happy with. Everyone claims fame to lafontaine, but I just have never been too successful with it. Hopefully this pattern will help me out.
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Well Done!! Nice pattern will definitely be giving those a try this spring.
JH
JH
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Well Done!! Nice pattern will definitely be giving those a try this spring.
JH
JH
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Well Done!! Nice pattern will definitely be giving those a try this spring.
JH
JH
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I have to save this one for when I learn how to tie. that looks like a fly that would absolutely kill on the tully for an emerald caddis. Can I order some? :lol:
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I have to save this one for when I learn how to tie. that looks like a fly that would absolutely kill on the tully for an emerald caddis. Can I order some? :lol:
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I have to save this one for when I learn how to tie. that looks like a fly that would absolutely kill on the tully for an emerald caddis. Can I order some? :lol:
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