Muddled Daddy By Raif Killips, UK
This is a modified cranefly pattern, developed primarily
for fishing lakes when there is a good wave. It is most
effective when fish are feeding at the surface on the
natural flies, but the pattern also works well as an
attractor or wake fly, drawing strikes from cruising fish.
Back in my college days under Illinois evening skies, the
muddled daddy used to work well on bass and the occasional
panfish. While this is, or was, a standard pattern in the UK
in the 1980’s, I see it in fly shops less frequently now,
and online it is a rarity.
The pattern borrows from several other daddy patterns and
is not an original, just a variation. The wings and legs
for instance, are tied the way Richard Walker used to
recommend. And several other characteristics are derived
from patterns featured in the UK angling press of the early
1980s.
Muddled Daddy
Hook: 8 - 14 Curved Sedge Hook.
Thread: 140 White UTC or 6/0 Uni.
Body: Furled Tan Wool.
Legs: Knotted Pheasant Tail.
Wings: Honey Hackle Points.
Hackle: Brown Dry Fly.
Head: Natural Deer Hair.
Tying Instructions for the Muddled Daddy:
- Start the thread behind the eye and run it to just
past the start of the bend.
- Tie in a furled wool or venille body section at the
start of the bend.
- Cut away the surplus wool and make several tight
securing wraps of thread. Aim to leave a smooth profile.
- Now tie in two sets of three legs either side of the
body so that they trail backwards. Stagger the legs in
each set of three so the leg joints don’t all line up
the same.
- Prepare two hackle point wings and tie in flat and
trailing like the legs to the back of the pattern.
- Tie in a brown cock hackle and build a light but even
thread base to wind the hackle on to. Before winding the
hackle I like to add a small drop of varnish to the thread
base so it is tacky when I wind the hackle. This is just
for a little extra durability.
- Make several turns of hackle, tie off and cut away the
surplus feather.
- Now build up a gently tapered thread base onto which
you can spin and stack the deer hair. The heavy tying
thread and combination of materials make it difficult to
avoid a hump of thread after the hackle. Note: If you start
tying in deer hair on this hump you will find it difficult
to get an even spread of hair and also to avoid slippage
off the thread shoulder.
- Tie in the first bunch of deer hair with the fine tips
facing the rear of the fly. I prefer not to use a stacker
but I do like to comb out the under-fur from the deer hair.
- Spin the deer hair and tie in another bunch immediately
after the first. Continue tying in and spinning hair until
the hook is loaded right up to the eye. You may prefer to
stop short of the eye. As I spin the deer hair head I like
to add a little varnish to the thread base, as with the
hackle, for extra durability.
- Whip finish and reach for a sharp blade ready to trim
the deer hair head down to size.
- Trim the head to your preference. I like to leave the
head large and flared. Otherwise, I cut to a ball shaped
profile - sometimes the fish seem to prefer that. The most
important thing is to trim the head close to the hook shank
underneath so that the hair doesn’t obstruct the hook point
(see the main photograph). I also trim out the hackle underneath.
- From above the fly should end up looking something like this.
- Finished fly.
About Raif:
I’ve fished since I was old enough to dabble a worm in
London’s Ruislip Lido and I’ve fished and tied flies
since moving to the Peak District National Park in the
late 1970s. Now I live in Nottingham, UK, and am lucky
enough to have some of Britain’s finest rivers and lakes
just on my doorstep. My regular spot is a secluded beat
of the beloved Derbyshire Derwent.
When I’m not out there fishing, or hiking, I work as a web
production manager. In the slots of time left beween my
freelance work and fishing trips, I work on my website
www.flyfishersrepublic.com ~ Raif Killips, UK.
Originally published May 22, 2006 on Fly Anglers Online by Raif Killips.