I tie all mine with spikey squarril dubbing. They look great and work great too. I don't put it in a loop like yours but might start, love the buggy look. I have caught some super selective trout on them in low clear water.
Byron,
Did you mix anything in with the squirrel? It looks like there is some shiny, reflective material in there, too. May just be the picture.
Joe
Kind of reminds me of the CDC & Elk whichhas a reputation of producing for both caddis and mayfly hatches. Your fly looks similarly "buggy"., so I'm wondering what hatches you had success fishing with this fly?
John,
It was actually a "reverse hatch"....what I call it.......female caddis in the late afternoon and early evening returning to lay eggs. It was in the first week or so of July.
If I can find photos, I will post a couple.
Byron, the Xcaddis is a great fly and I like your tie and the addition of the squirrel legginess!
I used to tie the wing on an X-caddis like the wing on an EHC. I now tie the wing a bit shorter on an X-caddis.
I've talked to Craig Mathews about the X-caddis. Craig Mathews explained that the X-caddis has a shorter wing than the EHC. He says that you can tie it as long as the shuck but I do not. It is an emerging wing. I can't prove it, but I personally think that a shorter wing indicates an insect in an earlier stage and more vulnerable to the fish. So if you are going to make a mistake in wing length, better to it tie it a bit shorter rather than longer.
Take a look at the link to Dave Hughes book below and compare the wing length on the EHC (flies 1-4) in the photo to the X-caddis (flies 5-6) to see the difference.
Essential Trout Flies By Dave Hughes
In the video below Craig ties the wing as long as the body. Notice how short he clips the shuck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvCw0DrINS0
Hans Weilenmann also does not tie the wing on his CDC and Elk beyond the hook bend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJyIbgKYHwY
Regards,
Silver
"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought"..........Szent-Gyorgy
You know looking at the fly again I would have to agree, I don't see why this couldn't pass as a mayfly imitation as well. We all have our theories and beliefs about what a fish sees and what attracts them. To me this bug has a trailing shuck, a buggy/leggy body, and a wing.... Looks good to me. I may try these this spring on some mayfly hatches.
Let us know. I don't doubt it, especially if it matches the size and color of the hatching mayfly.
Last edited by Byron haugh; 02-26-2014 at 01:24 AM.