Both the Ralph Cutter EC Caddis and the SPittendrigh Flat Caddis have a down wing and a flat parachute hackle. But the EC Caddis also has a standard fly body dubbed around the hook shank. The Flat Caddis has no body at all.
Consider the real caddis as a visual shape. There is a wedge-shaped wing and circularly radiating legs, all squashed down flat and low to the water. There is no visible body. Just a wing and circular legs:
So, from my point of view, there is no point in making a body. As a stereotypical visual icon, the adult caddis has no body:
There is a trick to making this fly. If you study the numerous online images of the EC Caddis, most have a down wing that stands half-way up. This is because the tier pinches the wing clump down tight to the shank before winding the parachute. If you tie that way there is no space below the wing to wind the hackle. So the parachute forces the down wing to stand upright.
I use a short shank hook (no body). I mount the hackle feather as a first step. I hold the wing clump above the shank and wrap one or two loose wraps around the clump BUT NOT UNDER THE SHANK. Then I jiggle the bobbin down and make five or six LOOSE wraps over the wing and under the shank. Then I make a dozen or more tight wraps horizontally-- between the wing clump and the shank. This builds up a small thread post between wing and shank, about which the hackle can be wound in a later step, without forcing the flat horizontal hackle to stand up in an annoyingly unnatural manner. The horizontal wraps also tend to tighten things up a bit. Then I wind the hackle and whip finish. And then apply a small amount of glue--top and bottom--at the fulcrum of the parachute.
This fly sits so low and flat to the water (like the real thing) it can be difficult to see. So--at least in recent years, due to increasingly shitty eyesight--I now tie most of my caddis flies with a light colored wing. Even if this week's naturals are darker.
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