"Fluttering Caddis"

[BRK TRT]

I tied this fly from a photo in Mike Valla's book Tying Catskill Style Dry Flies. Its a pattern created by Leonard Wright. I would like the exact patterns recipe so I could tie it the right way. Any help is appriciated.

The fly as best as I could determine from the photo in the book.

Brk Trt

 

[Trouser Trout]

Looks pretty nice to me, put me in for a dozen.

 

[Bamboozle]

Len Wright described the "Fluttering Caddis" in his 1972 book, "Fishing the Dry Fly as a Living Insect".

A couple of highlights:

• The body should be thin and made of pheasant tail fibers & counter wound with fine gold wire.

• The wing is spade hackle and assembled with three bunches of fibers, one on top and the remaining two on either side, veiling the body completely. It should lie as flat as possible on top of the body for the "Wright" look. Wrapping a base of thread at the wing area will help accomplish this. The hackle fiber butts should be tapered at the butt end and wound with thread to make a base for the hackle and to facilitate a neat small head.

• After trimming the wing fiber butts & securing with thread, apply head cement, (Len recommended Duco Cement!) and while still tacky, tie in the hackle.

The book is still a good read and opened my youthful eyes to another way to present a dry fly. I remember all too well a killer day on the Musky employing some of his patterns and tactics.

Nice fly BTW!

 

[BRK TRT]

Bamboozle,

Thank you for the info.

I'll tie up a few and post them.


Brk Trt

 

[danme]

I tied this fly from a photo in Mike Valla's book Tying Catskill Style Dry Flies. Its a pattern created by Leonard Wright. I would like the exact patterns recipe so I could tie it the right way. Any help is appriciated.

The fly as best as I could determine from the photo in the book.

Brk Trt

I have tied and fished this fly for well over 20 years --- You can mix and match the hackle and hackle fibers to create any color/colors -- I have found that Grizzly and Brown hackles and fibers work well -- Also Brown and Dun -- Dun and Grizzly -- Just Dun -- Just Grizzly -- Also the Body can be tied with any type of Dubbing -- Pheasent Tail isn'r exclusive -- I also tie them in different sizes ranging fro #12 To # 20 --- They are a GREAT FLY to Make Trout Rise without a Hatch, especially later on in the year

Hope This Helps you Out

 

[BRK TRT]

danme,

Thank you for that clarification.

When I saw the photo I kind of knew it was a good fly.


Brk Trt

 

[Bamboozle]

While whatever works is what is "right"; Len intended the Fluttering Caddis to NOT be fished dead drift.

The fly is designed with stiff hackles to facilitate skittering and adding movement to the fly in an attempt to imitate a natural adult caddis.

The book, theories and the techniques described within were somewhat controversial when first published since Len's theories directly contradicted the Halford/Gordon dead drift gospel of the previous 100 years.

Tie & fish them the way you choose. I have found that adding movement to a fly is like every other technique I try...

...sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

It's just fun sometimes to go back in time figuratively, and try something different.

 

[Broadheadscreek]

Nice tye BrkTrt! As Bamboozle and the others have stated a deadly pattern fished dead drift or with a twitch. I tye a all hackle version that I like to use in the early season. The hackle is palmered back to front the entire length of the body which creates a high riding fly and is easy to skitter or slide drives the trout nuts and you can blind fish it as well.

 

[NJpatbee]

For decades the Fluttering Caddis has been my number one dry fly in terms of trout caught from March through November. I use about eight variations in wing and body color in a variety of sizes. I use the Orvis Caddis Guide booklet (can't remember the exact title) which is a very good guide for the prevalent caddis hatches in the East and West.

You may want to try a couple of variations to the original pattern that I have incorporated:
- For the down wings, I blend hackle fiber colors to get a fairly realistic imitation of the natural. I don't know if the trout care, but it looks great to me.
- I normally use a carefully tapered fur body for the body
- Since one of the purposes of the Fluttering Caddis is to create a gentle twitch or skip on the surface, I have found that using a hook size that is significantly smaller than the overall size of the fly is most effective. The overall weight of the fly is less, and the weight of the bend of the hook is moved away from the tail end of the wings, which bear the brunt of the movement on the water. As a guideline, I use a hook that is 4 sizes smaller than what the length of the fly appears. For example, if you use the Orvis Guide, when they call for a size 14 fly, they show the size the artificial should be. I use a size 18 hook, but the overall size of the artificial is the same. I will post some pictures when I get a chance.

Leonard Wright's innovations deserve more recognition than he usually receives. He was the first to document the tying method and procedure for fishing the downwing "fluttering" patterns. If you read his two books on the subject, the second being "Fly Fishing Heresies", you will see that he was looking for an effective technique for fishing from Spring through Fall, with much of his fishing done during Summer conditions. His Fluttering Caddis style is the best design I have ever found for all 3 seasons, especially when there is no hatch. I have tried the Elk Hair Caddis and Cut Web Wing Versions of caddis which work fine on a dead drift, but they are not as effective when imparting life to the fly - which makes all the difference in the world when done properly.

 

[Soft-hackle]

I agree with NJPB on the contribution of Len Wright to fly fishing. An innovative thinker in every way, he questioned the technique of dry fly fishing, and we owe him a lot for popularizing the downstream dry fly presentation. This idea would have had you kicked off the stream when he first brought these ideas to light.

I'm sorry I never met the man, and I'm sure we would have had a lot to talk about. If you enjoy Len Wright, I'd suggest what I think was his last book;
Neversink. Informative and entertaining, it makes a wonderful addition to his other wonderful ideas.

Mark

 

[leadhead]

Hook: Dry 12-18
Body:Gray muskrat
Wing: Dun hackle barbs or mink tail hair
Hackle:Rusty dun

Change colors to match insect.

From; Flys for Trout, Dick Stewart & Farrow Allen.