Fishing Flies

Thread: Light brown.

Peeping head/thorax: Fluorescent green floss.

Legs: Brown speckled partridge.

Body: Hare’s ear and mask fur, mixed well.

Weight: A split shot (BB) fixed to fine mono which is then tied to the top of the hook shank, just behind the eye.

In the 1980s Roman Moser produced a video made on his native Austrian River Traun, New Ways of Fishing the Caddis, in which he introduced many new imitations of every stage of the caddis life cycle. Many materials used were synthetic and some (e.g. ‘Body Gills’) are now not too easy to obtain. Nevertheless, he has made a major contribution to the imitation of caddis.

CASED CADDIS (ROMAN MOSER)

Hook: Wet fly, sizes 10–12.

Thread: Brown.

Abdomen: Light brown fine synthetic dubbing and brown deer hair mixed. After dubbing and winding down the shank, the hair/fur is clipped to give a caddis case shape.

Thorax: A little light yellow deer hair, dubbed, wound and trimmed.

Hackle: Sparse, black henny-cock.

DEER HAIR CASED CADDIS

Hook: Nymph, sizes 8–12.

Thread: Black or brown.

Body: Roughly chopped and dubbed brown deer hair, suggesting a case of bits of fine twig and detritus.

Rib: Yellow thread.

Thorax: A little yellow fur to suggest a ‘peeping’ caddis.

Hackle: Black hen.

This is a modification of Paul Young’s STRAWMAN CADDIS.

The following are New Zealand patterns and feature in Keith Draper’s Trout Flies in New Zealand. The first is a splendid fly for rivers and lakes throughout the world.

HORN CADDIS

Hook: Nymph, sizes 10–14.

Thread: Black.

Body: Grey darning wool.

Rib: Fine silver wire.

Thorax: White wool.

Legs: Few grizzle hackle fibres.

BRAGG’S CADDIS LARVA

Hook: Curved grub/sedge, sizes 12–14.

Thread: Yellow.

Body: Golden-yellow floss.

Rib: Fluorescent yellow floss.

Hackle: Ginger hen.

This matches the caddis larva Olinga feredayi.

Many attempts have been made to create cased caddis with the real materials that caddis use in the construction of their cases, such as bits of twig, sand and pebbles. The only problem is that the resultant flies can sometimes be a bit too heavy to cast unless a meaty rod and line are used.

SAND CASED CADDIS

Hook: Nymph or streamer, size 10.

Thread: Black.

Underbody: Cream wool or floss.

Body: Sand. Soak the underbody with Superglue and cover with dry sand. Leave to set before continuing.

Thorax: The front of the underbody showing.

Hackle: Black hen.

The TWIG CASED CADDIS is dressed in exactly the same way, using bits of dry twig and leaf.

INNES STICK CADDIS

Hook: Nymph, sizes 12–14.

Thread: Yellow.

Tail and body: Mix of synthetic furs (e.g. BMS, Antron, SLF) or seal’s fur: 20 per cent of each of yellow, olive and orange; and 40 per cent dark brown.

Head: Tying thread.

Devised by Rick Innes of Melbourne, and useful on both lakes and rivers.