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Fluttering Tan Caddis
Tied by Craig Hudson
  • Hackle: Ginger
  • Wing: Ginger Hackle Fibers
  • Hook: Mustad 94840 size 16
  • Abdomen: Tan Dubbing
  • Thorax: Tan Dubbing
  • Thread: Yellow or Tan
  • Tying Instructions
    Tie in thread, add some head cement. Tie in a hackle feather by the tip palmer style. Apply dubbing sparsely to the thread. Wind dubbing from bend of hook to the eye leaving enough room for the head. Taper the back half of the body and keep the front half very thin. Wind the thread to just forward of the halfway point of the shank. Wrap the hackle forward with the shiney side towards the back of the fly. Tie off the feather when you reach the thread. If you have hackle which is long enough to wrap all the way to the front you can tie off the feather with a couple of wraps and leave the feather intact, if not trim off the remainder of the feather. Tear off a clump of hackle fibers from the larger feather on the neck making sure the tips are approximately even. Tie in the hackle fiber wings by the butts on top of the hook (down wing) on top of the body with the tips extending a third to a half of the length of the shank beyond the end of the shank. Having the body under the wing helps reduce the flaring. Tie in another hackle feather at the same point where you tied in the wing (if you had long feathers and its still intact just use the same feather) and wrap with the shiney side towards the rear of the fly. Continue to wrap until just behind the eye leaving enough room for the head and tie off the feather. Trim off the excess hackle feather, whip finish the head and apply a drop of head cement to the head. The wing must extend beyond the back of the hook. The hackle size should be normal for the hook size. Use a hackle gage or measure from the eye to the point of the hook.
    Fishing Tips
    I use this fly when I think the caddis on the water is light in color but haven't had a good look. The palmer hackle is not for skittering the fly although you can move it if the fish want it moving. I tie the palmer hackle to keep the body hidden a little so the fish can't get a good look at the body color. The fish seem to usually perfer this fly dead drift. I use it later in the year when the caddis are common but the numbers are not great. Once I see what the body color of the insect actually is I'll often switch over to that color in a similar pattern except with hackle only on the front half of the hook.I fish the fly up and across. If the fish don't take I'll twitch it a little (very little) and if they don't take I'll try skittering it across the water. If they still don't take it I give up and go to a dark caddis or other type of fly. Once I find out if they want it moving or not I'll quit on the other presentations.
    Craig Hudson
    Emporium, PA United States

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