It's got me stumped.......

[MNFisher]

I was fishing the other night and met a very nice guy as we both headed to our cars after dark. The inevitable "how did you do" moved to "what were you using". He handed me his secret weapon - something that looks to me like a PMD Foam Emerger with CDC for the hackle. He mentioned that oiler puffs were the key.....

So my question is, can anyone tell me how he tied the CDC on? I can't seem to replicate it using a dubbing loop - and I don't know how I would tie on individual feathers. (I fished his fly 2 nights later - I can't afford to loose my sample )

I'd appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you may have. You can see the fly here:


http://s39.photobucket.com/albums/e153/ths500/Emerger/

[Jamie Caddick]

Judging by the pics it almost looks wound around the post the same way you would wrap a regular parachute hackle.

One way to tell for sure would be to untie the fly and make notes about how he had tied everything in and wrapped them. Just cut the thread at the head and start unwrapping everything carefully.

[RonMT]

The fly in question has been around out here for some time now, really nothing new. The easest way to tie the hackle on is to fold the CDC feather. Tie it in by the tip and wind it around the post. Or you can also do it with a dubbing loop. Either way will work. It is easier to get the right length with the dubbing loop than by the folding method. But as long as the hackle isn't way to big the fish do not care. Ron

[Turk]

I have not tried this style with a foam post but it should work the same. Here it goes 1)tie in the tail or shuck and abdomen 2) strip a bunch of cdc fibers off the stem 3)lay them along side of your post material (I use poly yarn) tie the post and cdc fibers on at the same time in the center of the bunch do not trim them yet 4) pull all the fibers and post material up dub the thorax 5) pull all of the cdc fibers below the shank and trim them to the width of the hook gap they should splay out like the fly in the photo 6) trim the post to length. This method is shown in the book Tying Small Flies by Ed Engle and also in Mayflies Top to Bottom by Shane Stalcup.
Turk

[Taz]

I tie the cdc feather in by the tip and wind it around the post just like an ordinary parachute hackle.

http://www.myfishingpictures.com/showph ... &password=

[kengore]

I have tied similar flies from size 12 to size 24. CDC fibers are spun into chenille rope and wrapped like hackle.

You will need a tying thread that splits easily, Danville works,UNI thread does not. Tie into the hook and attach a tail and dubbed body with foam wing post, just as you would for a feather hackled fly.

Select 2-3 similar length CDC feathers, stack them and preen the fibers out at right angles to the stem. The length and number of feathers need to vary with the hook size. For size 8- and smaller a single CDC feather is enough. 3 or more feathers for a bushy size 12.

Only the fibers on one side of the center stem are used in each fly. So each stack of CDC feathers will make 2 sections of CDC hackle rope.

Pull out about 3" of extra thread from your bobbin. Stroke the tying thread with a needle or the back of your thumb nail to flatten it into a ribbon, pierce the flattened thread with a needle and divide it into two equal strands.

Place the prepared CDC feathers between the split threads. Align the feather so the thread is parallel to the feather stems, approx. halfway between the center stems and the fiber tips. Apply tension to the thread to trap the fibers in place. With a sharp scissors cut along the feahter stem and release the fibers. Save the uncut side for the next fly. You should end up with a clump of neatly aligned CDC fibers that are trapped in the thread.

Trim the tips of the fibers even, then spin the bobbin to tightly twist the thread. The CDC fibers twist into a bottle brush shaped 'chenille' rope.

Wrap this spun thread like any feather hackle around the post and tie off. Brushing the CDC fibers to point back before each wrap helps avoid crushing old layers. 2-3 sparse turns is best, depending on how dense you made your hackle rope.

Trim any loose or stray CDC fibers to size.

[MNFisher]

Thanks to all for the insight - and detailed responses. I've got some experimenting to do. And then, look out Mr. Trout!

[Jgoding]

One quick note.... if he said oiler puffs these are different than your standard pack of CDC. They are shorter and denser and sold separately. I will pull mine out when I get home and see what the best way to use them is. If I remember correctly they are kind of short and would not be easy to wind but using the split thread technique or loop might be alright.

I say the difference is important as you can see the density difference between the posted fly and one of the links.