Diving/Emerger Caddis
Beadhead (Wet)
A new dual purpose Diving/Emerger Caddis pattern which
incorporates the two most successful Caddis imitations
used by a multitude of Flyfishers. These patterns are
LaFontaines Sparkle Pupa and the Nemes Soft Hackle
imitations. Most Flyfishers are familiar with the hatch
that involves the erratic dancing adult Caddis which lays
it's eggs on the surface of the water, but the majority
of Caddis species dive to the bottom of the stream to
deposit their eggs on rocks, gravel and debris. The later
is usually not readily apparent to the casual observer
and when it resurfaces, it can easily imitate the
emerging Caddis. This activity accounts for the reason
that an essentially dry type Elk Hair Caddis may
successfully be used subsurface. What a pleasure to have
such a dual purpose pattern in your flybox and it gives
the Flyfishing Community an ironclad out when asked which
stage of the hatch they happen to be imitating. The
pattern is a pleasure to tie and particularly eliminates
the special knack required when tying the Sparkly Pupa
envelope.
This fly is fished
in the usual dead drift, down and across, or simply
dragging in the current with an occassional twitch
employed in all methods. An alternate method to the
twitch would be lifting, then relaxing the rod tip to
imitate the diving and emerging phases of this insect's
lifestyle. Used thus far has been very encouraging, do
don't miss out on the fun. The beadhead usually provides
sufficent weight to get tthe fly down near the bottom of
the stream.
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| Materials |
| Hook |
Mustad 9672,
Sizes 14-16; Mustad 9671, Sizes 12-16; Tiemco 2302, Sizes
14-16 |
| Thread |
Olive 6/0, 8/0
(Match Body Color) |
| Tail |
None |
| Overbody |
White, Orange,
Olive, or Brown Antron or Zelon |
| Body |
Peacock Herl.
Brown Olive, Light or Medium Olive, Chartreuise, Pale
Morning Dun, or Grey Magic Dub |
| Rib |
Fine Green Copper
Wire |
| Overwing |
Antron or Zelon.
Colors as specified in Overbody Sheath above |
| Beadhead |
1/8 Brass or
Silver Bead |
Tying Instructions
1. Properly place hook in vise. Elevate hook eye slightly
above horizontal to compensate for hook bending downward
during tying operations.2. Apply thread behind the hook eye and
wrap tightly back to the bend of the hook. Cut off excess
thread.
3. Tie in a full
piece of white spooled Antron. Comb out a small section
of the Antron with a dubbing needle before ttie in so
that it will spread slightly when tied in a later
sequence.
4. Tie in three
strands of Peacock Herl and a piece of fine green wire at
the bend of the hook. Arrange the Peacock Herl so the
long fibers will point outward when wrapped. Wrap the
Peacock Herl to the 2/3 hook shank position and cut off
the excess herl. Wrap about four or five wraps of fine
green wire up to the thread position and cut off the
excess.
5. Tie in a small
Partridge feather or mottled Hen Saddle feather by the
tip at the 2/3 hood shank position and wrap a maximum of
two wraps as a collar. Clip off the excess. Cut out the
center of the hackle collar that protruds on top of the
hood. Pull the Antron yarn that was initially tied in at
the bend of the hook overtop the body as a sheath, tie
off and cutt off the excess. Partridge hackle purchased
in packages is seldom small enough for this type fly as
the smaller hackle is removed for commercial tying
purposes. The best bet is to purchase a full partridge
skin or a mottled hen saddle which is much cheaper.
6. Tie in about
half a thickness of the Antron yarn on top of the fly as
a downwing. The length of the downwing should be the
length of the hook. Clip off the excess. Whip finish the
head area, clip off tying thread in preparation for
installing the beadhead.
7. Place a drop of
Zap-A-Gap CA+ directly on the hook eye. Slip a 1/8"
bead (large drilled out opening facing toward bend of
hook) and tap lightly on top of bead so that it makes
contact with the hook. Take note that the Zap-A-Gap is
sucked inside the bead when it is slipped over the hook
eye. Placing the Zap-A-Gap on the hook eye prevents it
from absorbing into the body material before the bead is
installed. Also note that the bead comletely covers the
threaded eye area which results in a much neater fly.
Place a needle tip into the hook eye for a few seconds to
remove any Zap-A-Gap that may have lingered at this spot.
Note. If placing
the bead over the hook eye as described, it will be
necessary to redrill the existing hole in the bead with a
#53 wire drill or adjust the drill size accordingly for
larger or smaller hooks. Of all the methods I have
encountered for placing a bead on the hook, the method
described here is the one that I have developed and
prefer.
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