WILSON CADDIS

  

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THE WILSON CADDIS

A caddis imitation made of calftail hair which has a durable high-floating wing profile….sometimes taken to be a mayfly pattern…

also known locally as THE BROOMSTICK CADDIS

The pattern features an indestructible wing of calftail hair…it is inexpensive to make and the materials required are readily available….

Developed in the early 1980’s on the Beaverkill River in Roscoe, New York ….

Originally, I was making the elkhair caddis without counter-winding wire from the rear to the front to lock in the hackle... and that is the reason that trout teeth would eventually tear up the hackle and windings, so Idecided to leave it out. Then inspired by the current  Swisher and Richards no-hackle style of dry flies, I thought to try no-hackle caddis….

That is how I became interested in the low profile style of fly…often I would observe trout drifting along with the fly,  inspecting it, and then taking it…or sometimes they would refuse and short-strike or just drift away..

Mary Dette's Daily Fishing Condition Report.....the local bible for the daily local patterns...

I was fishing caddis and polywing emergers on the Cairns Pool one afternoon…distracted and watching a big hatch of Green Drakes, I tripped on a large rock and took the plunge, soaking all my equipment…My fly boxes of Usuals and Elkhair Caddis were sopping wet…I spread everything out on paper towel to dry rather than losing the hooks to rust…
With a long night at The Hendrix Motel, and the fly shops closed, in a creative mood, I developed a replacement material for caddis wings…CALF TAIL HAIR !…with a new way of attaching the wing so it would not pull apart…

Inspired by the Swisher and Richards no-hackle style of dry flies, I thought to try no-hackle caddis….

Lucky for me, I happened to purchase some tan calf tail at the Beaverkill Angler Shop in Roscoe, NY. I used to spend some offtime hours there checking for suggestions for the local hatches and for materials.   The store was owned by Budge and Dorothy Loekle .....It was Budge who introduced me to the Usual Dry Fly and for that I am indebted as this is my favorite mayfly imitation….I still remember his bins on the floor full of prime snowshoe hare feet. 

Back to the reasoning behind the Wilson Caddis.  If wing material is bound straight onto the fly, it can eventually pull out after being repeatedly waterlogged and expanding. However, if I can attach a material and double it over, something that will fold over reasonably and look good, such as calf tail (deer hair does not work, it's too thick), or even poly wing, then that is the recipe for success….it soon  became my new regular caddis pattern….

Calftail hair can  be folded and doubled over to fashion a wing that will not pull apart....

THE BROOMSTICK CADDIS RECIPE

It is so easy to tie for new, young, and older less dextrous tyers too….a buoyant low-profile imitation that uses no hackle…for Brown Trout, Rainbows, and Brookies…the fly became known locally in Ontario as the Broomstick Caddis….

LIST OF MATERIALS

1 ) tan calf tail
2 ) tan Danville 6/0 thread
3 ) tan or hare’s ear dubbing
4 ) Mustad 94845 barbless or hook of your choice in sizes 14 thru to 20….
5 )  SM silver or brass/gold wire

TYING THE BROOMSTICK CADDIS

Even if you are plaqued by arthritis but can still tie a fly on a hook and manage a bit of cut and snip and dubbing, then you can make this fly.

A)  Mount a Mustad 94845 barbless in the vise and lay down a body of 6/0 tan Danville thread up to the hook eye and back to the bend….

B)  Select SM gold or silver wire and tip a piece down at a 45 degree angle, catch it with the thread….XS wire is difficult to hold onto and if it gets loose on the spool it unravels like the birdsnest on a casting reel….I unwind a bit of SM wire from the spool and when I cut it off, I leave a good inch sticking up so it is easy to grasp for the next time….avoid the temptation to cut it off level with the spool…

C)  Apply tan dubbing to the thread and dub the body over the hook shank up to the point behind the hook eye and pause….

D)  Tilt the wire to a 45 and then it up to the hook eye and tie it off…this will add segmentation to the body and be a firm base for mounting the wing so it will not twist around the hook…I use SM wire, silver or gold…you may also use a piece of horsehair, or a colour of thread, or thin pearlescent mylar.  

Cut the wire using the base of the scissors so as not to dull the tips…this is thin wire and won’t cause damage or you can helicopter the wire to take if off

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E)  Cut a small amount of hair from a calf tail as shown....You will be doubling over the wing…just eyeball the amount…TAKE HALF AS MUCH AS YOU THINK YOU NEED…just slide any excess away from the tuft and put it aside for the next fly….

F)  THE TRICK…flip the tips over in your thumbs so the butts are facing the rear ….don’t worry as we will be trimming them all off later…additionally, calf hair does not stack very well because it is kinky but it is not necessary to stack it as we will be trimming….Wind the thread back to the 2/3 point behind the hook eye as shown…this is the anchor point for attaching the wing material….

You will be double-lashing the wing into place so it cannot pull away from the fly body…that is the main feature of building the fly in this way..it is virtually indestructible…

G)  Place the hair onto the shaft and pinch your fingers….. pass the thread up, over and down thru your fingers (pinch wrap) to lock the hair in place so it will not shift position….5 or 6 wraps over each other will secure it…
Now wrap back toward the hook bend as shown but not too far…the farther back you go , the more tapered the head…this one looks good….

H)  Now, ready for the Wilson Caddis method of double-lashing down the hair so it can never pull away from the fly…pull those tips tight down over the body and hold in position…

Bind them down with several wraps using firm thread tension…then pass the thread under the thorax and pause at the hook eye….

I)  Apply a drop of cement and butter the whole thorax as shown…

As the cement is soaking in, apply more tan dubbing to the thread or use hare’s ear to give a little wilder appearance to mimic legs…..

Wrap right up to the hook eye, being careful not to crowd it…make a nice tapered thorax and head….

J)  Whip finish the head.

Snip off the thread and do not compress the thorax into the cement which is still drying…it is better to leave the wild fibers sticking out to resemble legs…some rogue hairs may be trimmed if desired…but they give the illusion of legs or movement and make the fly look alive ….this is the whole point in fly tying to me…make the fly look alive…every single fly will be a bit different…

Leave a nice clear hook eye as it is a nuisance to be onstream and trying to poke glued fibers away from the eye at the crucial time when trout are rising or it is getting dark….

The finished fly..I use sizes 16 to 20 in tan, black and olive body for tan and black caddis and in sizes 12 to 14 in cinnamon or fox for the Great Orange Sedge or Fall caddis when the big browns are out feeding in the cooler weather….

CAFTAIL HAIR ADVANTAGES…
Calftail is readily available in a variety of colours..the hair is kinky and strong like steel…yet it will trim into a realistic and durable wing profile….
Elk hair and deer hair are hollow like straws and eventaually become waterlogged and brittle…they tend to tear easily and pull away from the fly….
The calfhair is very durable, virtually indestructible and by using my method of doubling over the wing, the fly will be extremely durable….
The kinky hair traps air well to float the fly ….

BODY AND WING COLOUR COMBINATIONS…
When fishing a tan caddis hatch, I use tan wing with tan or hare’s ear body flies, and a tan wing with olive body too because many times the browns have switched mid-hatch to another body colour and start to refuse the fly I was using…they will shut down until they begin to see their new preferred  colour so be prepared by carrying several colour combos……

THE COFFEE CADDIS,  when it is hard to see your fly on the water, take a break and put the coffee on…I use a darker shade of coffee-coloured wing to help the fly show up better in fading light or in glare situations…

COLOURS OF CADDIS PATTERNS....

I do very well with these combos as general searching patters when nothing is seen on the water…I make a tan wing/grey body or a grey wing/ tan body to suggest dark flies while the regular tan wing/tan body will cover the lighter shades..
How about a sulphur yellow body, black, rust, or lime green ?…You choose a contrasting wing colour…

For 2024, I will be using various colours of calf tail wing to experiment.  For example, pink, purple, chartreuse, and white patterns. I even make a white Ghost Caddis as shown below with white wing/white body for use at dark becasue it is easier for me to see in the fading light

…and the silhouette attracts fish quite well…

EGG CASES FOR CADDIS….

Shown are Czech beads in size 10/0m poison ivy type which are emerald green, the colour of a caddis egg...

Mount the bead on the hook and build a dam on both sides to lock in position. It won't hurt to cross the thread over the bead to switch from back to front as the area will be secured with lacquer or a UV resin. 

Finish the fly wing and thorax as previously shown...

Shown above are glass beads in an emerald green colour called Poison Ivy…the size or 11/0 or 10/0 may be used on sizes 16 and 18 flies to imitate an egg case for tan caddis and black caddis…that is the colour of their egg cases…in size 20, the bead would make the hook gape too narrow but you could also use a small piece of emerald green foam which is the colour of a caddis egg case.

And here is  picture of the emerald green foam style of egg case...

As a result of using soft hackle caddis imitations, I have incorporated legs as shown below to resemble hatching or struggling caddis…this new change may be fished dry or wet as a  submerger…..this “fussy stuff” is not always necessary but the subtle change on some days may entice that extra hit because the fish are seeing something different….

Just wrap a couple turns of partridge in the middle before the calf tail hair is applied for the wing….tie down the wing at the 2/3 point and sometimes wiggle the thread so as not to trap all leg the fibres, however some will be captured and go along the side…..or attach some partridge or grouse on top of or alongside the thorax and then flinish with a small drop of glue and tie off….

When fishing this model as a wet, I would get many strikes as I drew the fly upwards subsurface….sometimes I would release the retrieve pressure to allow the fly to rise, especially in view of a marked fish position ( like a returning egg-layer or diver )….Now the undulation of the legs will add extra appeal !…..

PRESENTATION…..

Fish the fly in the same way you would float or dive a Usual Dry Fly or Emerger…
When twitched it will appear to be a moving caddis or if dead-drifted then it may seem to be a resting caddis or even a mayfly which is just starting to dry its wings before takeoff..again situational….

THE CASTING STYLE….

When I am fishing, I will use my peripheral vision to take note of flashes and rings that betray other fish locations….
I fish downstream more than up and I use a Tuck Cast to drop the fly about 3 feet above a fish position, and dead drift down to its lie…I keep pressure off the fly by lifting the rod tip and pushing my arm ahead in sync with the current speed…..

No takers ?…Then I lift the rod tip and pull on the line to skitter the fly back up to me, as if it is escaping or routinely flying along as caddis will do…I try to make it pass over a spot where I have marked a fish position…often this will tempt them to strike…

DEAD DRIFT AND DIVE…THE SUBMERGER TECHNIQUE….

Sometimes I will throw a Reach Cast several feet above the fish position and when the fly is about 3 feet above the lie, I tug hard on the line and jerk the rod to sink the fly…as the fly is buoyant with chemical and will rise up when the pressure is released, I am timing it to be rising up as it drifts towards the fish…This appears to be a hatching caddis or one that has descended into the water to lay eggs and is heading back to the surface…it can rise naturally or I will draw up on the line slowly as in the Leisenring Lift..and make it rise…follow the drift with your rod tip or stop the rod tip and let the fly swing…Mix it up….

PIGGYBACKING THE CURRENT...

In this technique I am fishing almost straight downstream toward a fish position so I make a short wiggle cast and cock my rod at a 45 degree angle. I then move my arm ahead in sync with the current speed as the line strightens out and I time it to pause just above a marked fish position. Then I pull on the line to skitter the fly right past the fish. This will entice a savage strike.

Be vigilant and try to notice fish positions which are given away by flashes or previous rings..then target the feeding lane of the fish you have observed…when a fly is rising and appearing to escape near these marked fish, drawing it up will often trigger a violent strike, even if the fish has to leave that lane to get it…

The fly leaves a trail of bubbles like a comet tail when drawn through the stream by swinging across or using the Leisenring Lift.

This caddis pattern is very versatile and suggests life, the key ingredient in a trout fly…When the fly drifts down a riffle, it rides high like a cork and fish have less time to decide to take it…and in slower water, it will pass inspection by even the fussiest of trout…many times I have observed a brown trout drift along underneath the fly in the current, watching, deciding, and then refusing it only to sink away back down to the bottom…in that case I will change the size or colour and try again…

I always fish with absolute confidence and anticipation and when a trout does rise or take, I am prepared for that strike….

CRICKETS AND GRASSHOPPERS….

A bit off topic,  however my tying technique will make a simple imitation of these insects which is high floating and durable….
That is why I keep and utilize the longer hair which is found at the tip of the calf tail because it is doubled over and locked in for these larger flies…I make them on a size 12 Mustad streamer hook….

EMERGENCY FLIES….

I also keep two boxes of extra flies in my back vest pocket in ziplock bags in case I drop my whole box into the stream and cannot retrieve it from a fast current…
Yes, that has happened to me but it only has to happen once…
I have changed from taking a lot of flies onstream to taking 3 to 6 of each pattern…I am fishing fewer patterns but I am fishing them better and more completely… Have confidence in your fly and in the presentation….
At the end of the day, if a fisherman really takes inventory of what he used, the number is often less than a dozen patterns, for me anyways..so why take all of your flies?

LOSING FLIES…..

While I am fishing, I keep used flies in a separate compartment marked X rather than to pin them on a fleece patch…I find that the flies rub off on bushes and grass or just fall off due to the barbless hooks….
A “lucky” fly that I put aside after a few fish and pinned onto my fleece has disappeared more than a few times so now I don’t take the chance to lose them…
I just have to remember to open the compartment of used and damp flies and allow them to air out otherwise the hooks will rust…Don’t forget to do this…

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NO TANGLES AND NO MESS !

Another advantage of my flies is that a number can be kept in one compartment of a fly box..they do not clump together because the wing fibers are unidirectional as opposed to a loopwing type of fly…I then group my flies into compartments marked tan 20, 18, 16, or ginger 14, olive 16, and so on…
The flies just slide apart with no damge and no wasted time even if barbed hooks are being used….

I also keep damaged flies or “failures” in a separate compartment and will later clean the material from the fly with a razor blade to be remanufactured…I once made a Duck Tape Caddis which was a failure because the tape melted off the fly and it only lasted a few casts..that was a big disappointment but I like to try new patterns and materials…

Hooks are sometimes hard to come by so I reuse them,….not to be cheap but they are still good and I will make a used hook into a better fly…It is a big disappointment to go to the store to restock my hooks and find a sign that says “out of stock”….