I need help. I found a caddis pattern in the Trouthunter fly shop in Last Chance this June. I am quite sure it was labeled “A.C. Caddis” or “EZ Caddis” - almost sure it was “A.C. Caddis”. Anyway, I lost the one I had purchased.
When I look up “A.C. Caddis”, I see a caddis with a parachute hackle around the butts only.
The one I purchased had the hackle wound around BOTH the bottom of deer hair wing AND the butts as well.
I know it doesn’t sound right, but that is how it was. Anyone know what it was?
It sure was effective!!! I tied some myself while there and they worked well.
Interesting subject for me. I think you are talking about the EC Caddis, generally attributed to Ralph Cutter. I have a similar pattern, developed independently, which I call the Flat Caddis:
I did publish a Roadkill Streamer piece in Rod and Reel, back in '85 or so, that mentioned “funny-looking parachute caddis flies I was anxious to try.” I mention that date only because I was once (on another forum) accused of stealing Ralph Cutter’s pattern, without giving him proper credit. I think the truth is we both invented it, independently, at about the same time. If you Google EC Caddis you’ll see various images.
Thanks Pitt!!!
That’s the next best thing to having received Bing Lempke’s video.
Thanks a lot!
Byron
PS, What you describe has happened to me often. I come up with a fly pattern that is “new to me”. I post a picture and someone says: “Oh, that is the blank blank pattern”. Happens to us all. That’s why I am convinced it was only a matter of time before the elk hair caddis and other flies would have been developed by others?
Will this work?
I did trim the hackle fibers away from the eye of the hook to maintain them as legs on the sides.
That shows in the second picture.
The reason I want to tie some is that I caught the Bow shown below on opening day using that pattern.
I did notice, however, that the wing in the photo at that link tends to stand higher than I would like. I wanted to get a flatter looking wing - sort of what Pitt gets on his fly.
What do you think?
Left the hackle whole in this one, but am trying to get sort of a flattened look…
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.
As a copy of Ralph’s pattern, your abdomen is too large, wing is too long, too much hackle, and the hackle is oversized. The tan/chartreuse combination is typically the most effective for me. As an early effort, very nice tie. It’ll fish, no doubt. Keep in mind the high wing also serves as an indicator so you can see the fly, a key feature when fishing fast water. Often tied with bleached deer to make it even more visible.
