Robert Christmann: ‘My Favorite Fly’

Here is another great guest post from Bob Christmann.


Since I now can no longer fly fish due to my big-time balance issues I thought I could at least share this as you dream of warmer days and rising fish.

My all time favorite fly is the Nelson’s Caddis. I first learned of it in a Fly Fisherman article many years ago. I have caught more fish on this than any other Caddis pattern (or any other fly for that matter).

It was created by Nelson Ishiyama and was written up and described by Michael Fong in the March 1987 issue of Fly Fisherman. It is easy to tie and presents a perfect impression of an adult caddis. With the deer hair wing and good flotant like Gink it can take a beating and still float.

I have always liked it better than the standard Elk Hair Caddis or many other imitations as it incorporates a three-tier wing design that mimics the profile of a Caddis for more realism. Fish are usually picky enough and you want any advantage.

This is the caddis fly mentioned in one of my previous posts (here).

Materials

  • Thread: I have always liked UNI-Thread. Strong and doesn’t break.
  • Hook: Size 12 to 18 Tiemco 5210, or 101 for smaller. Crimp the barb down. The fish will thank you.
  • Body: Dark Hare’s Ear Dubbing mixed in with some chopped Hare’s Mask for extra bugginess if you want, or Hare’s Ear Plus Antron for some sparkle.
  • Wing: Natural Coastal Deer Hair. Ideal for creating wings, tails, and collars. Perfect for tying flies that require deer body hair. This is a finer, shorter hair than regular deer hair and perfect for forming a compact wing. The base is not as thick as regular deer hair and will flair some a bit but not too much. The dark or medium works, whichever tickles your fancy. You can use cream, black or whatever color you encounter but dark/medium is the most common I’ve observed. J. Stockard Fly Fishing is an excellent source for any materials you might need.
  • Hackle: Grizzly Saddle or Neck depending on the length needed. Can also use barred ginger as substitute for cree for browner leg tones as cree is expensive and seems not very available.

Instructions

Step 1: Wrap the entire length of the shank with thread, then add a post of dubbing twisted onto the thread at the back. This all keeps the hair from twisting around the hook.

Step 2: Cut a bunch of deer hair. Cut a little extra as a few always seem to escape and run off. Use a hair stacker to even up the ends and comb out any fuzz. Loosely secure the hair with a few turns extending a little past the bend with hair up tight to the dubbing ball. This helps the hair to flair up. Leave the butt ends long and pull on the ends until the length is correct and looks right, then cinch down tight so the fibers will stand up and trim the butts but leaving enough to secure good. It took awhile to learn this to make it easier on myself.

Step 3: Add a section of dubbing directly in front of the hair, covering the wound down butt section.

Step 4: Add another smaller bunch of stacked hair in front of the dubbing, starting to form the tapered down tent shape. Using the technique in Step 2 is very helpful to get the smaller batch pulled smaller especially if the fibers are particularly uncooperative or if you have meaty fingers. Add another section of dubbing.

Step 5: Add a third even smaller bunch of hair and it should have a good tent profile now just like the naturals. The fibers won’t stand up as much now as you aren’t cinching down as much of the butt ends but do the best you can with getting them to stand up to keep the profile.

You may not be able to get three clumps of hair on the size 16 to 18, but that’s OK as long as you have the profile.

Add another bunch of dubbing that the hackle will be wound through.

Step 6: Wind on the hackle (not too thick), whip finish and cement the head.

You can also trim the hair to shape and size but better to get it right to begin with.

Call it blasphemy but I like to trim the bottom hackles in the middle to form a V shape to help with increased stability like outriggers. This also helps make sure the fly sits lower on the water.

I have never bothered to add antennae. Extra work and it’s really the profile of the wings that’s the key attraction.

I hope you find this fly effective!

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2 thoughts on “Robert Christmann: ‘My Favorite Fly’

  1. This looks cool but I’ve never tied a caddis dry fly before. Am I better off starting with a pattern that only needs one bunch of deer hair

    1. Sure you can. The Nelson’s is a bit more complicated so start with something easier to tie. Just make sure you get a good profile.Lots of pictures of caddis on the web and patterns to reference.It has served me so well over the years that I am biased!

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