Caddisflies are always a great choice to fish, especially when the trout are rising! Many of these flies feature deer or elk hair, a material that I have grown to love over the years. I have purchased a lot of it, thus feel free to contact me for any recommendations on something you're looking for. In the meantime, check out these patterns, as they are some of my favorites because of their ability to fish a dry-dropper combo.
This video features Mr. Kevin Compton of Performance Flies. Kevin is an advanced tier and it shows in this one! Kevin shares his Double Duck Caddis, which includes some intermediate techniques that he does an excellent job of breaking down into easy-to-follow steps. Thanks for sharing this one with us, Kevin!
The Tan Caddis is an insect found on so many of our waterways, and there are many flies out there to represent it. This pattern is a variation of many you may know, but can be quickly tied due to the "Caddis Wings" material referenced in the video. Aside from that product, I also share some ways to change this pattern to an emerger and other caddis types. This is part of my "Two Minute Tying" series, and is a great dry fly that can be tied quickly and easily at the vise.
For this tutorial, I am demonstrating the process to tie Al & Gretchen Beatty's Bullethead Caddisfly. This is a very fun pattern to tie, especially for those who enjoy spinning deer hair. There are different ways to tie this pattern, especially for the bullethead; some insist placing the bullethead hair first, while others last. I chose the former for this pattern because I dislike crowding the remaining sections of this fly. This is also a fun pattern to fish, as I describe in the video. With a similar look to the Elk Hair Caddis, and only slightly more difficult to tie, I recommend trying out your skills on this one!
During this fly tying tutorial, I tie the E/C Caddis (emergent / cripple) created by Ralph Cutter. This is a great pattern when fishing over pressured trout, especially in tailwater situations. On those waters, the cold temperatures can slow the emergence, making patterns like this one perfect imitations.
Here are some great resources to learn more about this pattern and to see the color change during a caddis emergence:
http://stevenojai.tripod.com/eccaddis.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNHIdOYAhZc
In this fly tying tutorial, I feature a fly that doesn't seem to get a lot of attention, the Tan Adams. This is a fly that tends to ride under the radar, as most anglers opt towards the traditional Adams in grey, though this one does an excellent job of imitating lighter-colored insects, such as caddisflies. If you enjoy fishing the Adams, then I recommend you try the Tan Adams out; you won't be disappointed!
In this fly tying tutorial, I demonstrate the steps required for Doug Swisher's Madam X. This version, the "Royal," is based on the colors/materials in the Royal Coachman and Wulff (red and peacock, respectively). This is a great attractor pattern, incorporating a deer hair wing tied bullethead style, plus great rubber legs to create vibrations in the water. This is a pattern to use in a variety of situations, most notably as an attractor in faster water; the bonus is that it's a really fun fly to tie!
Featured in this fly tying tutorial is the Splitsville Caddis, a pattern created by Jonny King. This is a newer patter that utilizes a method called the "Hackle Stacker." This method, developed by Bob Quigley, is combined with a caddis hair wing, making for an incredibly buggy look. The Splitsville Caddis is also being sold currently by Orvis, and I anticipate many fish succumbing to it over the years.
As mentioned in the video, Jonny's pattern is featured in the February / March issue of "Fly Fisherman." I encourage you to check that issue out, and apply this technique to other flies.
For this fly tying tutorial, I wanted to bring more light to a tradition pattern, the Royal Trude. Instead of simply describing and tying this fly, I focused on possible variations that a tyer would make to enhance the fly, bringing it up to more "modern-day" materials. The original pattern is a highly effective fly, being fished as a dry (attractor), wet fly. and streamer; the variation is able to be fished this way, too. Other common flies this pattern can represent include terrestrials, stoneflies, caddis, and drakes. Current versions of this fly are also well-known; the Lime Trude won a One-Fly contest, thus solidifying this pattern for years to come.
For this fly tying tutorial, I chose to demonstrate the Parachute Hare's Ear, a pattern with the capability to represent many different insects on the water (especially caddisflies). The fly was tied on an Allen Fly Fishing hook, the D103BL, which is a barbless 1xl dry fly/nymph hook (http://www.allenflyfishing.com/d103bl-dry-fly-nymph-1xl-barbless/). Variations of this fly can include a change in the color of the body, hackle, and ribbing; basically, feel free to modify as needed based on your natural insects.
For this fly tying tutorial, I chose to tie the Clown Shoe Caddis (aka Boulder Creek Caddis), a pattern representing the emerging caddis. This pattern, created by Jay Zimmerman, gives you some flexibility when fishing, being that you can hang droppers off of the hook bend, keep the fly floating on the surface, or allow the abdomen to sit in the water. This is an intermediate pattern, plus there are opportunities for variations when tying, as described in the video.
For this "Two Minute Tying" tutorial, I am tying the X-Caddis, a pattern developed by Craig Mathews that represents the emerging or cripple-caddis. This pattern can be adapted to represent your natural caddis, though I have also varied it by adding a cdc underwing. This pattern is one I recommend when fishing in pressured waters, due to its realistic imitation of the natural.