Carl Richard's Caddis Flies

[pszy22]

Carl was the master of mid west caddis flies. He spent countless hours studying them on the Muskegon River. Back in the day, the Muskegon River was considered a laboratory when it came to Caddis Flies. Dick Pobst was also very familiar with the Muskegon, he owned the Orvis Shop in near by Ada.

BTW, there is an excellent book written by Carl Richards specifically on the Muskegon River Caddis flies, if you can find a copy. I'm not sure how many copies exist. The first edition had individual photos hand pasted in the book. There was a second revised edition that had printed pictures. The book is a treasure trove of info.

[ducksterman]

Looks like we have choices...

3M Magic tape....not waterproof but has a gray matte under wing surface....

3M packing tape... tear by Hand... waterproof and gives a sheen to the under wing surface

Tea bags....I think I'll pass on that since I'm not going to England and it involves too much drinking anyway

I have both of those tapes and just made a wing with the Magic tape...it is grayer....I have a number of wings I made some time ago with the Tear by hand type and they indeed have a definite sheen.

The Tear by hand has one less step so I guess I'll stick with them....doubt if the fish care.

[Eight Thumbs]

Hi Duckster,

Nicely summarized, Sir. I'm going to try all three methods over the next couple of weeks. I've already located my packing tape. I have a roll of Magic tape right on the computer table and REE is sending me some authentic English teabags by snail mail. Life Is Good!

Hey Parnelli,

That's a great list of caddis patterns. Simple and very straight forward. Much thanks for sharing. 8T

[Chuck441]

Well, here's a fourth choice I just came across. Any VW dealers near you?

http://www.danica.com/flytier/rastok...vag_caddis.htm

Chuck

[LadyFisher]

Forgive me for not reading through the whole string, but at one time we had some fly wings using the neat bags from the Post Office...indestructible.

[Eight Thumbs]

Hey Chuck, I like the fly a lot but I think that type of wing gives up a something in terms of shine and transparency which is what I like about the tape wings. But to be honest, I doubt it makes much difference to the trout particularly on fast-water, free-stone streams. Thanks for sharing.

Hi Ladyfisher, Do you mean those white, plastic, bubble-lined bags with the glue strip that is sealed for eternity once you fold the flap over and press it? 8T

[ducksterman]

I should let LF answer but I believe she is referring to the Tyvec like envelopes for priority mail.

[Joe Billingsley]

How does it cast? Any helicoptering problems?

Joe