Opal X caddis

Materials needed:
Hook:  Standard dry fly hook sizes #14-18.  I'm using a Mustad 94840 size #18.
Thread:  UNI-thread 8/0 tan.  I am using a gel spun thread in white.
Tail/shuck:  Amber or tan Z-lon are the most popular.  Green has worked well for me.
Body:  Small pearl tinsel wrapped over the butt ends of the shuck.
Wing:  Deer or elk hair.

Place your hook in your vise.

Start your thread.

Tie in your tinsel.  Leave the butt end of the tinsel long.  It should come up just short of the hook eye.

Tie in your Z-lon with one wrap of thread.  Leave your butt ends of Z-lon as long you left the tinsel.

Lift the butt ends of Z-lon, and wrap your thread forward tightly securing the butt end of tinsel to the hook shank.

Press your thumb nail down on the thread wrap that is holding the Z-lon in place.  This will distribute the Z-lon around the hook shank somewhat evenly.

Wrap your tinsel forward with open wraps, securing the butt ends of Z-lon to the hook shank.

Every couple of wraps, pull the butt ends of the Z-lon forward towards the hook eye.

Tie off and trim the tinsel when you are about an eye's length away from the eye.

Trim any stray fibers.  You can also just leave them.  They make pretty good legs.

Trim the shuck/tail to about the length of the hook gap.

Cut, clean, and stack a bunch of deer or elk hair. The tips of the wing should be about the length of the hook shank.

I usually tie mine just short of the shuck, and slightly longer than the hook bend.

Tie in the deer hair with 2 loose wraps quickly tightened to flare the butt ends of the deer hair.  Don't let the wing rotate around the hook shank.

Wrap your thread through the butt ends to secure it to the hook shank.

Trim the butt ends of your wing leaving a tiny head.

Whip finish and apply head cement.

CDC and elk hair caddis

This is how I tie the CDC and elk hair caddis. It is a high floating, easy to tie version of  Al Troth's Elk Hair caddis. 

Materials needed:
Hook:  Standard length shank dry fly hook.  Size #10-18.  I'm using a size #16 Allen 103BL.
Thread:  Tan 8/0 UNI-thread.
Body:  Naturally colored CDC.
Wing:  Elk or deer body hair.

Start by placing your hook in your vise.

Start your thread, and wrap back to the end of the hook shank, and tie in your CDC by the tip.

Wrap your CDC forward, each wrap directly in front of the previous wrap.

With your thumb and forefinger, remove any extra long CDC fibers.  You want them to extend just beyond the hook bend as shown.

Cut, clean, and stack some Elk or deer body hair. A small clump goes a long way.  You should be able to see the CDC body through the hair wing when the fly is finished.

I am using deer hair because my local caddisflies have darker wings than elk hair.

I like to measure the wing to about the back of the hook shank, but it can be tied longer if desired.

Transfer your grip on the hair to your other hand once you've measured the wing to your desired length. Trim the butt ends, and then tie it down.  Wrap your thread through the butt ends of the hair to hold it securely in place.

Whip finish around just the hook shank just behind the eye of the hook.

Golden trout 6/22/2013 trip with GoPro footage!

So I headed back into the mountains last weekend with my GoPro to hopefully get a few shots of some golden trout.  I had OK luck this day, but my battery didn't last very long, and I wasn't able to use the GoPro for the rest of the trip.

There was a sedge fly hatch, and fish were pulling the adults off the top of the water like crazy.  Most fish I caught in the lake were on elk hair caddis , and small stimulators.  In the creek, they couldn't pass up a sierra bright dot, and would hit it even after I missed them the previous drift!  Sometimes traveling pretty far to eat it.

Well, enjoy the video, and let me know what you think!

Elk hair caddis

Materials needed:
Hook:  Standard dry fly hook sizes #12-#20 (I'm using a size #16)
Thread:  Tan Uni thread 8/0
Legs:  Brown dry fly hackle palmered over the body.
Body:  Green caddis dry fly dubbing.
Wing:  Elk hair.

Place your hook in your vise.

Start your thread.

Select a brown hackle feather and trim the barbs off where it will be tied in.

Tie it in with the dull side of the feather facing you.

Wrap it back to the end of the hook shank.

Dub some green dubbing onto your thread and build up a tapered body.

It's easiest to dub a small amount of dubbing onto your thread at a time.  When you run out of dubbed thread, just add more.

Palmer your brown hackle over the body, and tie it off a bit behind the hook eye.

Cut, clean, and stack a clump of elk hair.

Measure your elk hair so the tips extend just beyond the end of the hook shank....

...and trim the butts at the hook eye.

Tie the clump in.  Leave enough room to whip finish around just the hook shank just behind the eye.

Trim the head of the fly if you need to.

Tie the clump of elk hair down securely so it doesn't rotate around the hook shank.  The best way to do this is to wrap around the clump of hair and the hook shank, and then to finalize your work you wrap your thread around just the hook shank in front of the clump.

 Whip finish in front of the clump of hair around the hook shank only, just behind the eye.