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Cdc

JOE.T

JOE.T

Dry Flies Only
CDC- These feathers are not new and where known back in the day as duck rump feathers.They are found near the oil preen glands.However its not the oil that gives them there outstanding floating qualities.

Good CDC is easily recognized by the fact that the feathers have dense fibers.

The barbules of most other feathers extend at a right angle from the fibers.This allows the fibers to ahere to one another.CDC barbules are unique in that they spiral around the fiber stem.This prevents them from clinging together and creates space between the fibers,this in turn creates air pockets.Also all the fibers act in an independant manner and for these reasons NEVER USE ANY FLOATING TREATMENT!

There is absoloutley no reason to use anything on cdc to help them float since its not needed, especailly if there tied correctly and good quality feathers are used.

By using treatment you also

A.You ruin the natural action of the fibers and barbules.

b.You also ruin the natural ability of the feather to create natural air bubbles.Why use chemical bubbles(frogs fanny) when you already have the real thing.

C.If you use enough chemicals it will simply clog the barbules up and ruin the cdc for good over time.

I often use the same cdc emerger pattern all night (depends on how bad the fish tear it up) and never ever have a problem with floatation.

CDC- offers an animated,translucent light pattern that traps air bubbles-that are not obtainable in other feathers.Randall Kaufman.

CDC can be used for emerging mayflies,midge pupa,under wing for caddis and wing cases for floating nymphs.
 
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JOE.T said:
b.You also ruin the natural ability of the feather to create natural air bubbles.Why use chemical bubbles(frogs fanny) when you already have the real thing.

C.If you use enough chemicals it will simply clog the barbules up and ruin the cdc for good over time.
Click to expand...

Joe,

After using a CDC pattern for an unspecified period of time, many of them tied by different sources (including but not limited to Al Caucci's fly shop), they start to sink and get water logged. Everyone I purchase a fly from cannot just simply be tying these incorrectly. Hell, I have a few that you've tied (fly swap) that I've used, and they sink too. I'm sure at least one of the many I purchase these things from is using the correct brand of CDC... With that said you've narrowed my CDC floating problem down to 1 thing, Me.

Now that I know it's me, I have to find out how to fix the problem... How do I keep my CDC based fly, Dry through-out the day/evening without applying any type of treatment to it?

Just out of curiousity, what source are you using that shows that Frogs Fanny in particular ruins CDC. I'd like to read up on that myself, as well as question the researcher about it. The reason I ask is because I've been using the same CDC Fly's for quite some time now (over a year) and even after applying generous amounts of CDC, they still look brand new and work just as well now as they did when I either purchased them or built them myself. Finally, Frogs Fanny is non toxic, non scented, and tasteless.

This leads me to one more question... Aside of getting snags and/or losing the big ones, how long will most of you keep your fly's before expiring them?
 
Dennis

I use have ued these cdc patterns a hundreds times if not more.As a matter of fact thats all I have used this year.I may have used a comparadun a few times if that.

Yes they will get water logged!And will sink.

All that is needed is a couple of fast hard false casts.You will actually see the water spray from the pattern when stopping hard on the forward cast.

Sometimes after exrended use I may false cast 5 or 6 times to really dry it out.

I suggest you try this,but only with cdc patterns that have never been treated.

Dennis when we hook up in OCTOBER I will show you how I use the same fly for hours without any treatmnet.In fact I will cast into the riffs 1000 times(you count) during non hatch periods and demonstrate that with some hard false casts you need nothing!

HAVE FUN THIS WEEKEND.

JOE.T

Dennis if you read the description and properties carefuley that I detailed above its obvious that ANYTHING not just frogs fanny will change and or ruin the natural properties of cdc.

I still have some cdc patterns in my box that are 4 years old.
 
Hey Joe T.

I've been tying with the puffs (which I believe is the tip of the feather). Which is the preferred part of the feather ? :confused:

thanks,
Tom
 
The puffs are poor quality .

Use the entire feather,and strip all the fibers from the stem,so all you are working with is the fibers.

I will try and post how to tie the cdc emerger I use later.

Joe.t
 
Joe,

That would be great. I've tried doing what you said, ...stipping the fibers from the stem, then twisting them, but I wind up with a big fuzz ball? :)

Dennis

Ps... Where will you be this weekend? I'll be in the area if you want to hook up one day for a few hours. That would be pretty cool.
 
Guys,

You might want to check out Trouthunter and Rene Harrop.
I have several of Rene's tying videos and 90% of his patterns
utilize CDC in some way. Very innovative and effective for both
mayfly and caddis patterns. Their CDC is very high quality and the
volume is great for the price. John and Rich at Trouthunter are
very helpful.
 
Joe is totally right about NEVER using Frog's Fanny or any other floatant. DON'T DO IT! False casting is all it's about. DO THAT! My favorite Caddis pattern of late is the CDC and Elk, originated by Hans Weilenman. You take the cdc feather and stroke it in your fingers until you have all the fibers collected together at the tips. With the convex side of the feather towards you, tie in just the tips at the bend of the hook, (directly above the barb). Take you hackle plies and connect them to the butt of the feather and wrap your body towards the eye. Once you see the fibers start to expose themselves freely, stroke them backwards towads the bend as you wrap. Once the body is finished, just add a deer hair or elk wing. KILLER fly and susper easy to tye. Go to Hans site, www.danica.com/flytier and "see all." LOL.

Do not be confussed by what was spelled out in the last post. Sure you will have supposedly tyed in "all" the fiber tips. But trust me, some will not be the same length and will not get tyed in with the majority. THOSE will be the ones that begin to "splay" as you wrap the body, and which you should stroke back towards the bend of the hook. This fly is a MUST have in your box, trust me, it WORKS. later, mark(willow)
http://www.JazzMarkGallery.com
 
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Dennis,

After you strip 5 feathers say for a size 16 sulphur.

Wet your index and thumb than take the pile of fibers and roll them tight.Keep working the pile until it looks like a mini cigarette.

You want it to be at least the lenght of the hook to the bend.Again keep rolling tight until it looks like a small cylinder.

Place the cdc on the hook from back to front.Tie in about 2 eye lengths behind the eye.2 or 3 tight turns will do.Then take the cdc and pull both ends straight up and tie in as you would a parachute in a circular motion around the very bottom of the cdc the thread should be "scraping" the hook as you make the ccircular turns.Then take both ends and pull straight back torwards the end of the hook and trim ends to the bend of the hook.After that take your index finger and rub the cdc a few times to "fuzz" it up.

Dennis I can meet you Monday morn on the west branch.

Call me 914 393 6270.

Joe.t
 
A couple of thoughts... Dennis... I was in your camp regarding CDC until I started tying my own. It got wet and sank and forget fishing the CDC flies in the rain!! I then starting tying my own with Joe T's method.

For me the whole key is to really tie it in thick. My Pseudo emergers appear to have a thick little brush on them. Sort of like a make up brush that women (perhaps some men?!) use. I think most commercially tied flies tied with CDC are tied without using enough CDC. My hunch is that CDC is realtively expensive and these tiers skimp on the material to save money.

I do not use any sort of floatant on the CDC. Most of the time false casting or squeezing the fly in fleece will dry the CDC should it get wet. I do use Frogs Fanny from time to time and have not noticed any problems with the fly's floatation. I think it works great. I don't believe this stuff ruins the feathers. Frogs Fanny is not floatant. It's a dessicant. I think the reason it works is the fine particles combined with the brush.
 
On another note the west branch is running at 1000 cfs it looks like they turned the faucet on.

I hope it doesn't shut the fish down for to long.

Fred Your right its not a floatant,and it does work great.i have used it on comparaduns.

Can you make it up there on Monday?

JOE.T
 
Wish I could.... calling for showers and cooler temps. Should be as good as it might be! Catskill Flies says they are scheduled to drop the flow rate.
 
Joe,

I'm not sure what time I'll be leaving on Monday (checkout time?) I'm sure the wife isn't going to want me to stay and fish too long on Monday. If I'm still around, I'll definetely give you a ring, I got your PM with your #'s.

Thanks
 
By the way... The fly's that I've tied for the flyswap (Sulphurs), are Dun's with a CDC Wing. I've done something a little different with the bodies on these bad boys to give them a very lifelike look. I compared the body colors with some fly's I took off the water, and these are something else. I think HydeLowRyder can attest to how realistic the bodies look.
 
Joe T.

I like your method of tying CDC, gonna give it a try for my fall BWO'S.

DC,
I keep using my flies until they fall apart or rust up,actually it seems the trout like the chewed up ones better, at least for a while

Wanted to go up this weekend... but too many bar-b-ques with non fishermen. Were you @ Cairn's last Sunday??
 
Sorry guys, i thought you were saying Frog's Fanny IS a floatant. I'll have to give that stuff a try. But still, never use floatants with CDC. Anyone interested in the Bow Tye Caddis, let me know. It's another very simple tye and it works great! Of course it's a CDC pattern. Super quick to tye.

I'm such a lousey fisherman. The Bowtie Caddis is a great fly though. Tonight it worked like a charm, and i guess my presentation was good enough too. Unfortunately i missed allllll my strikes. Some cat gets in the water right next to me and gets 4 fish in 15 minutes....................damm. Oh well. m.j.romero(willow)
http://www.JazzMarkGallery.com
 
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Here you go Andre,all you ever wanted to know about cdc. :)

Click on the links as well.

Trout hunter is very good quality,also stay away from the colored stuff,since the dye clogs the barbs.

Natural dun and white are best.


Joe.t
 
Thanks Joe, I finally figured out your method and will try it tonight .Also found a link on FAOL in the fly tying section that shows how to tie the feathers in. Look under intermediate section and find CDC.
 
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Here you go C&R all you want to know about cdc.
 

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Thanks Joe. I already know about CDC. I just don't know about snowshoe rabbit fur and how it compares to CDC. Why use one over the other?
 
In My opinion after trying both, Cdc floats much better especially over time.Cdc "holds" many tiny little air bubbles which in my opinion mimics many naturals emerging.I believe thats a big trigger for the fish.Also cdc has "life" to it when on the water.Life meaning natural movement while floating in the currents.

Both will work and both will catch fish! I just prefer cdc since the patterns I use cdc with have always out produced others.

Sorry thought your question was about cdc. :indian:
 
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