Waking October Caddis

[UC Steve]

waking OCII 003 (500x371).jpg (109.12 KiB) Viewed 8156 times

Liked ScottP’s take on the NOC – a versatile design for sure. This is a very important insect where I fish, & I like a pattern that will fish dry, skated, waked, or swung deep. Scott inspired me to post one that is working good right now.

Waking October Caddis

Hook: #6 TMC 200R
Thread: orange UNI 6/0
Rib: gold French oval
Body: orange/ginger antron & pinch of Wapsi Superfine sulfur yellow, dubbed on a loop of the tying silk
Wing: mixed dark moose body hair topped with 5 or 6 gadwall flank fibers
Hackle: orange hen
Head: brown deer hair, spun & clipped as a muddler (raggedy, not tightly packed) – leave a collar of hair

[tie2fish]

Definitely has "the look", Steve ... no wonder it is working well for you.

[chase creek]

VERY nice tie, Steve. Really like the wing combination.

[Roadkill]

My favorite bug and a beautiful tie!!

[ScottP]

Steve,

Beautiful fly. Going to tie some of those up for a trip to the Missouri.

Regards,
Scott

[redietz]

Oh, yeah. I've always liked an orange bodied Muddler and this one is an extra nice variation on that theme.

[letumgo]

Steve - Can you tell us more about how you fish the fly as a dry, skater and waked pattern? Do you treat the fly with any type of floatant, or use any special knots (riffle hitch) setup? Would you ever fish this fly in tandem with anothe fly, or generally fish it as a single fly? The moose hair and loosely compressed hair head seem to be excellent design choices for the range of depths you describe. A more hollow hair might not allow fishing deep.

Handsome fly, btw.

[UC Steve]

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Ray, to answer your questions as regards fishing this particular pattern: I don't use a riffling hitch with this one, as it has enough built-in flotation it doesn't need a hitch to lift it (& a long rod helps). And I've never used a riffling hitch on a trout fly -- though this one does fish steelhead as well. And I have skated these over steelhead & it operates just fine tied with a loop knot. Mostly, I fish this particular design wet, swung just below the surface, 'waking' (lift the rod enough so the fly makes a slight wake against the surface). When trout are on dries I fish a dry version that's a better floater (photo below); though the muddler may be dressed to float, fished dry through the top of the drift, then skated, &/or pulled under & swung wet toward the end of the drift -- & that can kill during the OC hatch.

Some hold that a messy, loosely-constructed head produces more vibration -- & I find that a convenient truth.

Steve

uc hairwings 002 (500x383).jpg (132.19 KiB) Viewed 8051 times

[tie2fish]

Another good looking pattern, Steve -- an autumn version of a Stimulator.

[letumgo]

Wow! That is a piece of art. Autumnal beauty, yet entirely "fishy".