My Favorite Caddis Fly

 

A fly that fished well all summer and this fall is Tim Cammisa’s X-Caddis. I’ve written about it in the past. With Winter Caddis on the horizon, I’ll make sure to have a few with me as we slide into colder weather.

I like this pattern because it sits low in the water, and so, looks more vulnerable to trout. The fly doesn’t have hackle on the body. You can drift it, and towards the end, pull the line to sink the fly and swing it. It then will look like an emerging Caddis. Be prepared for vicious strikes!

You can attach to it a small and lightly-weighted nymph, such as the Caddis Emerger. So, in that way, you can hit the fish both low and high during a Caddis hatch.

My go-to has been a size 20. I’m running low, and so, tied up a few this morning. Here are the materials used.

Hook: Orvis Tactical Dry Fly, #20. It’s a barbless hook with a wide gape and a hook point angled up–this helps with hook penetration and securing the hook after a strike

Thread: Uni 8/0 black. I like the Uni for this fly, as it’s tightly corded and, therefore, will “bite” down on the Elk Hair fibers to flare them

Body: Superfine dubbing. Brown-olive or black. If I’m feeling industrious, I’ll add some green dubbing to the back to represent an egg sac (even though emerging Caddis don’t have them, but, hey, why not?)

Wing: Elk hair. A few CDC fibers (optional)

Shuck (optional): Brown Antron

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One thought on “My Favorite Caddis Fly

  1. I did well with those caddis all season long, both elk and deer hair though not as small as a #20. I always fished them dry, but like your suggestion of swinging it like a wet fly. Regards, Sam

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