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Wissachickon Caddis
Tied by Jerry Caruso |
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Thread: Black or gray
Hook: Dry fly size 14 or 16 or shrimp/caddis pupae 10 or 12. The dry fly hook I prefer is barbless and SE.
Wing: Light tan deer or yearling elk (I used coastal deer for these
flies, but I just picked up a deer's mask that has the right color)
Body: Slate gray CDC feather
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| Tying Instructions |
Those of you who have seen Hans tie his CDC and Elk or have an original
will recognize my Wissahickon Caddis as a poor variation of the
original. Last spring I was fishing the creek when I noticed a lot of caddis which appeared to be light colored on the water with rings and splashy rises all over the place. I took out an APC tan caddis (tan wing and body) in a size 14 and started fishing.
Fish to the left of me, fish to the right, nothing! I worked through all
the caddis in my box including CDC and Elk tied as Hans had shown me. Nada, after about half hour I managed to knock one of the caddis down and took a look at it. The size was in the 14-16 range. The wing was a light tan, and the kicker, the body was a dark almost slate gray. I took my sample home and found I had CDC to match and some deer hair that was a fair match for the wing color. I tied a half dozen up and went out a couple of days later. I caught the tail end of some caddis activity and managed two rainbows in the 16 inch range and a 12 inch brown.
Until late in the summer, the fly consistently produced trout, sunfish and the
occasional smallmouth. I took it up to Vermont with me where it took
several small browns and brookies.
| Place hook in vise etc. Take CDC feather and stroke barbules toward
tip, tie in feather by tip and bring thread to just in front of hook
bend, wrap thread forward to about 3 eye lengths behind the hook eye.
Wrap CDC feather forward to form the body, as the barbules flare, stroke
them to the rear. When you reach the thread, tie off feather and trim
excess. Take a pinch of deer hair, maybe 25 to 35 pieces (I didn't count
them), loosely stack them (the bunch I used fit in a .32 S&W
shell case). The tips should extend about a half a shank length beyond
the bend. Tie in like you would elk hair in the elk hair caddis, let
it flair a little, make a couple wraps with thread, then make a wrap
with the thread through the head. Build a small head in front of the
deer hair, whip finish and go fishing. |
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Variations: Chartruese Body/light tan wings (Upper Delaware late may/early June.) Use Orange or Chartruese CDC, followed by appropriate colored CDC for a "Hot Butt CDC and Elk.
You'll find your fly attached to a button. Two years ago after the "Blizzard" all 31 inches of snow disappeared in less than 24 hours under a driving rain, causing extremely high waters along the creek. Later that summer, another 10 inches of rain fell in less than 6 hours in portions of the watershed,
raising the water to max flow. Basically the creek rearranged and
cleansed itself. During the fall, as I was walking along the creek to
one of my "new" favorite spots, I noticed that the ground was littered with
buttons. I picked a couple up and followed them to their source which
appeared to be the bank under a tree root.
When this swap came up, I was trying to figure out what "local" flavor I could send. I ruled out Tastykakes, soft pretzels and cheese steaks and settled on the buttons. Of course after two years the buttons were harder to find, but I
managed. I also found a piece (pictured above) which I hope will add some credence to what I'm going to tell you. |
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Between the 1680's and the 1830's, 54 mills were built along the
Wissahickon. They ranged from the first paper mill in the colonies, to
one of the largest grist mills in America. Sawmills and textile mills
were also common. By the late 1830's, most of the industry was gone and
the Wissahickon valley was used mainly for recreation. In 1868, 4 years
before Yellowstone became a national park, the Wissahickon Valley was
set aside, "to protect the purity of the water of said creek..., may
preserve the beauty of its scenery." By the time of the 1876
Centennial Exposition, the 17th and 18th century buildings that
dominated the creek were demolished. |
So where did these buttons come from? Best guess is that they
probably date at the latest from the early 1800's. I haven't had time
to research this thoroughly, but there was a large mill not far from
where the buttons were found. The only reason it's noted is that it
produced currency paper for the Continental Congress. Was it a textile
mill also? I don't know. Any antique button buffs out there?
"Now the Wissahiccon is of so remarkable a loveliness that, were it
flowing in England, it would be the theme of every bard."
Edgar Allan Poe, "Morning on the Wissahiccon" |
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