WET FLIES
The egg-laying stages of the midge and
the caddisfly cannot be imitated by
ordinary patterns because these insects
carry a cluster of air bubbles with them
when they go underwater. The best material
for reproducing that effect is Antron; and
both the Diving Caddis and the Diving
Egg-Laying Midge are tied with dubbed Antron
yarn for the body and clear Antron for the wing.
Diving Egg-Laying Midge
HOOK: 16-18; TMC 9300 - standard wet fly hook.
BODY: Antron dubbing (touch dubbed)
WING: clear Antron (tied in a loop over the body)
HACKLE: hen hackle (one turn as a sparse collar.
My favorite tactic is to tie three of these
flies together (tying the monofilament from
the bend of one hook to the eye of another),
cast them and let them sink a few feet, and
then draw them to the surface smoothly.
Diving Caddis
HOOK: 8-20; TMC 9300 standard wet fly hook.
BODY: Antron dubbing (touch dubbed).
UNDERWING: soft hackle fibers.
OVERWING: clear Antron.
HACKLE: rooster hackle (one turn of low
quality hackle; fibers are forced back around the fly).
If no fish are rising, the first thing to
look for on a lake are the wind lanes. These
flat ribbons of water amidst the chop gather
drowned insects and attract trout. They are
the places to fish "loch-style." With a float
tube or kick boat, line up along side the scum
line and drift with the wind from top to bottom.
Put three wet flies (and at least one of them
should be the Diving Caddis) on a leader,
leaving extensions off the blood knot as
droppers. Lift and drop a long fly rod, making
the patterns dance and touch the water. ~ GL
To be continued, next time: Nymphs
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