CONTROL FLY - CADDIS (Colour: Ginger)
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This fly is perfect for the Vaal and Smallmouth Yellows, and can be used as a control fly
while short-line nymphing (Czech-nymphing) or as the point fly while dead-drifting New Zealand style.
With a Bead head, it's a great control fly, and without a beadhead tied in smaller sizes (even without lead wire)
it's a fantastic dropper fly too. If I tie them in smaller sizes like # 12, #14 and #16, I tie them with no lead wire
and with a bead or without a bead, and use them as dropper flies. It imitates the brown Vaal river caddis larvae that
occur in the river system, and the bigger green rock worm caddis larvae that are usually green and olive in colour.
Pick up any rock in the riffles and you will see them in their cases attached to the bottom of the rocks.
MATERIALS:
HOOK: # 8 or #10 Scud Hook, Heavy Wire (For can tie down to #16, with or without bead, smaller sizes uses no lead wire for weighting)
BEAD: 4mm Brass, Gold or Tungsten (For smaller hooks, match bead size to hook size)
THREAD: 6/0 Rust or Brown (For other colour flies, match thread colour with flys colour)
RIB: 4X Mono & Single Strand of Ginger Crinkle Flash
OVERBODY: Ginger Thin Skin, Translucent
BODY: SLF Ginger coloured Dubbing (Alternative: Any fine, easy to use dubbing with a little shine to it)
THORAX: Brown Superbrite
WEIGHT: 0.015mm Lead Wire
Additional Tool Required: Brown Permanent Marker, to colour scud-back over thorax area.
STEP 1. Cut a piece of Thin Skin, as shown above, about 4 or 5mm wide X 25mm long. Cut a point in
as shown...this will make tying it in easier and neater. Do not peel it off the cardboard backing yet.
Step 2. Debarb your hook, slide the bead on, and mount it in your vise.
Step 3. Wrap a layer of lead wire onto the hook shank, starting on the left. Go right to the front,
and then wrap a second layer of lead wire back over the first layer. Make sure to wrap it tight together.
Step 4. Start your thread on the left of the hook shank, next to the lead wire. Wrap a few turns here,
to make a nice taper, and to ensure the lead wire does not move back.
Step 5. Take a 20cm piece of 4X mono filament, and tie it in the back. Tie the mono down,
and continue back down the hook bend, to a point as shown above.
Step 6. Now take one strand of Ginger Crinkle Flash, and tie it in the same spot as the mono.
Step 7. Now peel off the thin skin from it's cardboard back. Place it next to the hook shank as shown, to the side...
not on top, as when you start tying it in, it will tend to move away from you. Starting from this position will
ensure that the thin skin end up right on top of the hook shank.
Step 8. Start tying the thin skin is as shown, moving down.
Step 9. This is what you will end up having. The thin skin is now right where the mono and
the crinkle flash is tied in.
Step 10. Now spin a thin noodle of the ginger dubbing onto the thread. Roll the dubbing
onto the thread with your thumb and middle finger, while holding the bobbin in your left hand. Roll
in ONE direction only.
Step 11. Now wind the dubbing noodle over the hook shank, moving forward towards the hook-eye.
Make sure there are no gaps, but also that there are no bulky build-ups or bumps. Take it to
a point just before the bead, as shown.
Step 12. Now spin another thin noodle of dubbing with brown superbrite dubbing.
This will form the thorax.
Step 13. Wind the noodle froward to the bead, making sure it is the same size approximately as the body.
Step 14. Now gently stretch the thin skin over the dubbing on top, to form the scud-back.
Take a few turns of thread right behind the bead, to secure the thin skin.
Step 15. Stretch the thin skin gently upwards, and cut it just above the thread. Keep tension on
your bobbin and the thread, and make a few more turns of thread to secure it down.
Step 16. Now take the strands of mono and crinkle flash, put them together and put both ends of the strands
in a hackle pliers. Then spin the hackle pliers, so that the mono and the flash spin together and form a rope.
Make the first turn of this rope right behind the butt of the fly, and then start moving up, forming the rib. Make about 6 or 7
turns with the mono/flash, to form the rib over the body. Then an additional two over the thorax. Once the ribbing
is right behind the bead, take two or three turns of the thread to secure the ribbing.
Step 17. Now cut the ribbing off close to the bead, and make a few more tight wraps of the thread,
Whip finish and apply a drop of head cement onto the thread wraps. Put the fly aside to dry.
One it's dry, take your brown permanent marker and colour in the top of the thorax. You will
be colouring the first three segments basically, closest to the bead.
Here is a top view of the completed fly, with the section of thin skin that is over the thorax area
already coloured in with the brown permanent marker.
This is a #10 hook, with no bead, but with the same amount of lead wire underneath, for weight.
This fly is excellent for Smallmouth Yellowfish. Tied in different colour combinations they are highly effective. Some smaller colour combo's
will work on trout rivers too, where the caddis larvae exists. Other colour combos that work well is as follows: (Body/Thorax colours)
Chartreuse/Black, Olive/Black, Life cycle green/Black, Cream/Light Brown, White/Brown, Brown/Black.
The #8 and #10 flies with bead heads and lots of weight is used as "control flies"...the flies that gets the setup to the bottom
of the river bed. In smaller sizes like #12, #14 AND #16, those flies are used for droppers that complete the
rest of the setup. These flies are highly effective whether you are Czech-nymphing or dead-drift fishing with an indicator, or
New Zealand style upstream nymphing.
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HOOK: # 8 or #10 Scud Hook, Heavy Wire (For can tie down to #16, with or without bead, smaller sizes uses no lead wire for weighting)
BEAD: 4mm Brass, Gold or Tungsten (For smaller hooks, match bead size to hook size)
THREAD: 6/0 Rust or Brown (For other colour flies, match thread colour with flys colour)
RIB: 4X Mono & Single Strand of Ginger Crinkle Flash
OVERBODY: Ginger Thin Skin, Translucent
BODY: SLF Ginger coloured Dubbing (Alternative: Any fine, easy to use dubbing with a little shine to it)
THORAX: Brown Superbrite
WEIGHT: 0.015mm Lead Wire
Additional Tool Required: Brown Permanent Marker, to colour scud-back over thorax area.
TYING
INSTRUCTIONS:
STEP 1. Cut a piece of Thin Skin, as shown above, about 4 or 5mm wide X 25mm long. Cut a point in
as shown...this will make tying it in easier and neater. Do not peel it off the cardboard backing yet.
Step 2. Debarb your hook, slide the bead on, and mount it in your vise.
Step 3. Wrap a layer of lead wire onto the hook shank, starting on the left. Go right to the front,
and then wrap a second layer of lead wire back over the first layer. Make sure to wrap it tight together.
Step 4. Start your thread on the left of the hook shank, next to the lead wire. Wrap a few turns here,
to make a nice taper, and to ensure the lead wire does not move back.
Step 5. Take a 20cm piece of 4X mono filament, and tie it in the back. Tie the mono down,
and continue back down the hook bend, to a point as shown above.
Step 6. Now take one strand of Ginger Crinkle Flash, and tie it in the same spot as the mono.
Step 7. Now peel off the thin skin from it's cardboard back. Place it next to the hook shank as shown, to the side...
not on top, as when you start tying it in, it will tend to move away from you. Starting from this position will
ensure that the thin skin end up right on top of the hook shank.
Step 8. Start tying the thin skin is as shown, moving down.
Step 9. This is what you will end up having. The thin skin is now right where the mono and
the crinkle flash is tied in.
Step 10. Now spin a thin noodle of the ginger dubbing onto the thread. Roll the dubbing
onto the thread with your thumb and middle finger, while holding the bobbin in your left hand. Roll
in ONE direction only.
Step 11. Now wind the dubbing noodle over the hook shank, moving forward towards the hook-eye.
Make sure there are no gaps, but also that there are no bulky build-ups or bumps. Take it to
a point just before the bead, as shown.
Step 12. Now spin another thin noodle of dubbing with brown superbrite dubbing.
This will form the thorax.
Step 13. Wind the noodle froward to the bead, making sure it is the same size approximately as the body.
Step 14. Now gently stretch the thin skin over the dubbing on top, to form the scud-back.
Take a few turns of thread right behind the bead, to secure the thin skin.
Step 15. Stretch the thin skin gently upwards, and cut it just above the thread. Keep tension on
your bobbin and the thread, and make a few more turns of thread to secure it down.
Step 16. Now take the strands of mono and crinkle flash, put them together and put both ends of the strands
in a hackle pliers. Then spin the hackle pliers, so that the mono and the flash spin together and form a rope.
Make the first turn of this rope right behind the butt of the fly, and then start moving up, forming the rib. Make about 6 or 7
turns with the mono/flash, to form the rib over the body. Then an additional two over the thorax. Once the ribbing
is right behind the bead, take two or three turns of the thread to secure the ribbing.
Step 17. Now cut the ribbing off close to the bead, and make a few more tight wraps of the thread,
Whip finish and apply a drop of head cement onto the thread wraps. Put the fly aside to dry.
One it's dry, take your brown permanent marker and colour in the top of the thorax. You will
be colouring the first three segments basically, closest to the bead.
Here is a top view of the completed fly, with the section of thin skin that is over the thorax area
already coloured in with the brown permanent marker.
This is a #10 hook, with no bead, but with the same amount of lead wire underneath, for weight.
This fly is excellent for Smallmouth Yellowfish. Tied in different colour combinations they are highly effective. Some smaller colour combo's
will work on trout rivers too, where the caddis larvae exists. Other colour combos that work well is as follows: (Body/Thorax colours)
Chartreuse/Black, Olive/Black, Life cycle green/Black, Cream/Light Brown, White/Brown, Brown/Black.
The #8 and #10 flies with bead heads and lots of weight is used as "control flies"...the flies that gets the setup to the bottom
of the river bed. In smaller sizes like #12, #14 AND #16, those flies are used for droppers that complete the
rest of the setup. These flies are highly effective whether you are Czech-nymphing or dead-drift fishing with an indicator, or
New Zealand style upstream nymphing.
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