What is the relationship between cane and caddis in Connecticut? Connecticut was home to two of the greatest minds in cane rod building and caddis fly pattern development, E.W. Edwards and Gary LaFontaine, respectively. On a recent outing, I channeled a connection with Edwards and LaFontaine. I fished one of my cane rods that was built with multiple techniques developed by Edwards. At the end of my rod was LaFontaine’s Deep Sparkle Pupa caddis pattern. The Edwards-LaFontaine connection worked, and I was rewarded.
One of the greatest pleasures of fly fishing is the requirement of close observation of one’s environment. As one progresses, it becomes abundantly apparent that increased observation and attention to detail reveals the complex and beautiful world that God has created. The relationship and interdependence of each part of our natural world surely is the work of God. Our observations reveal that beetles account for 40% of all insect species (and 25% of all animals) on earth. See Gilliott, Cedric, Entomology (2 ed.) (1995). Given this observation, beetles should account for a decent percentage of space in an angler’s fly box. And for the small stream angler, that percentage should be even higher. This is a rather straightforward beetle pattern that I created. It is designed to solve a few problems: (1) Sight - Small streams, especially canopy laden and/or those in a valley, are notoriously shaded. Even on bright days, sun can be limited and variable. Being able to visually track flies is crucial. While beetles are often comprised of a number of colors, they are often predominately black. Black is tough to track on small streams. Although a flash of white or pearl can be helpful, in sunny areas or in a foam line, it can fade away into the background. For this fly I use SAAP Float-Vis in florescent chartreuse. Other florescent colors can work, such as yellow, pink or orange. The idea is to keep the visual post short so it is visible to the angler but not to the fish and to have a color that will not disappear into the background of the water surface. (2) Legs In Water - Bugginess is the name of the game. Providing something that is enticing and that masquerades as an easy, high caloric meal is key. Often, legs are tied too high on terrestrials and they ride above the water and defeat the purpose. So, I tie the legs on the bottom of the fly and arrange them so they gently slope downward in the water. I also use and prefer legs that are somewhat supple, which allows them to move, rather than using stiff legs with little movement. (3) Peacock - Peacock herl or spears can use used as the underbelly of the fly. While real peacock is incredibly reflective of light, it does have a tendency to be brittle. Here, I chose to dub Arizona Synthetic Dubbing in peacock. Here are the steps for tying the fly. See captions below photos for more detail. Click Play Below. The Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association is made up of some wonderful people. With strong leadership, all events are a pleasure to attend. Each time I am asked to participate in fly tying events, I am honored. The other evening, we had our annual Fly Tying Roundtable. Like many, I become inundated with the vast majority of fly patterns to choose from. During a recent read (…and there have been many reads…) of Dave Hughes’ Wet Flies, I noted his suggestion of a great experiment. Hughes suggests that one could tie wet flies in four simple body / wing color patterns: olive/blue dun; gray/grizzly; tan/brown; pale yellow/ginger. p.48. What a wonderful idea! From this suggestion, I decided to tie a nymph, wet and dry fly based on this color scheme. I used favorite base fly patterns, but modified them a bit to accommodate my specific small stream fly fishing needs. This spawned the basis of my fly tying presentation. My goal was to provide folks with a comprehensive set of essential small stream flies that represent a wide variety of life stages of aquatic insects. General fly patterns tied in four (4) different color schemes (olive/blue dun; gray/grizzly; tan/brown; pale yellow/ginger): (1) All-Fur Wets (Rosborough, Hughes) - tied as nymph and wet My Modifications: bodies dubbed with Hare’s Ear Plus matching colors (2) Flymphs (Leisenring, Hidy, Hughes) (3) Wulff Dries (Bailey, Wulff, Betters) My Modifications: hair wings eliminated; hackle and tails color matched The following morning, I disappeared on a remote small stream, and tested these patterns in the warming weather. It was an amazing outing with many char were taken on these flies. Click Play: Hook: TMC 5262 Thread: Olive UNI-Thread, 8/0 Tail: Olive-dyed pine squirrel hide Body: Peacock herl, Natural Hackle: Olive-dyed pine squirrel hide Credit: Dave Hughes Notes: • I’m a big fan of wet flies for many reasons. They fish well in diverse conditions, and they often have a rich and interesting history. This is a Dave Hughes creation, influenced by the wonderful work of E.H. “Polly” Rosborough. I’ve made a few material modifications and, arguably, over hackled a bit. This, however, underscores the flies’s ability to invoke movement when fished. And the use of peacock herl is the icing on the cake that has proven deadly on many classic patterns. • For those experimenting with wet fly fishing, there is often a worry about weight. One may be inclined to add a bead, use underling wire, etc.. Try resisting this temptation. All fur wet flies are versatile. Dressing them with floatant will allow the fly to ride on the surface, in the film or upper water column. Submerging them in water before casting will weight them significantly, especially with such significant fur. Water as weight will allow depth to be achieved in a slightly more natural fashion. It will also allow the balanced pine squirrel fibers to perform naturally through the entire length of the fly. (1) Click Play. (2) See caption below photos for further details. I had a wonderful time tying flies at the 2023 annual Connecticut Fly Fisherman’s Association's Exposition. There were great vendors and terrific fly dressers. It was a fun opportunity to catch up with old friends who I have not seen in awhile. I focused on overlooked and underutilized fly patterns for small streams, some of which were geared to year-round fishing and others to warmer months. I tied both an adult and larvae black fly; an adult and larvae crane fly; a drowning adult crane fly; and a flying ant.
As always, I learned just as much from folks with whom I engaged. One gentleman praised his use of a zebra midge with a white bead. It made me think more in depth about the black fly larvae I was demonstrating. Although it appears in a variety of colors, from olive to brown to a dirty yellow, it can also be tied in black. Interestingly, it seems that its fan-like structure on its head may bear a number of similarities to a zebra midge with a white bead and to an emerging micro-caddis. The ability to reasonably cover a midge, micro-caddis and black fly larvae with one fly should not be underestimated as a year-round dropper. |
AuthorMichael D. Day, Maker Categories
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