With the recent explosion of fly tying materials, it's hard not to
experiment with some of the new "cool" materials that just look like they
have the potential of creating something great! One of those new
materials is Davy Wotton's SLF Salmon and Steelhead dubbing. This
dubbing combines the buggy synthetic look of other, older dubbings such as
Harelile and combines them with with flashy fibers enabling tyers to
create some explosive new steelhead and salmon flies.
One of the new age flies spawned from this new material is the Ice Caddis.
A fly that is as deadly and steelhead and migratory browns as it is on
Pacific salmon. Not only will you find this fly effective under
stained-water conditions, it's also a breeze to tie, taking less than 3
minutes from conception to completion.
|
The Ice Caddis |
| Hook: |
TMC 205BL size # 10-16 or
equivalent caddis hook |
| Thread: |
Black 8/0 |
|
Underbody: |
Fine lead wire |
| Body: |
Davy Wotton's SFL Salmon &
Steelhead dubbing. Can be tied in any variety of colors
including green, dark olive, orange, yellow, and red.
Hareline Ice dubbing can also be used as a substitute and is more
commonly available. |
| Head: |
Black or dark olive Hareline
dubbing. |
Note: We apologize for the lack of color in these
photographs. Taking pictures of reflective flies such as this one is
a bit of a chore as the flash causes quite a reflection, thus causing a
loss of color.
1. Start by attaching the thread onto the hook and wrapping a
desired amount of lead wire to the bare shank. Once the lead is
applied, secure it with a few wraps of thread so that it does not slide
along the shank.
2. Wrap the thread towards the gape of the hook. Once
there, dub a small amount of SLF Salmon & Steelhead dubbing in any desired
color onto the thread and wrap forward. In our case we've chosen
electric green. Keep the wraps tight as you do not want the dubbing
to be wrapped loosely over the shank (causes the fly to come apart after
only a few fish).
3. Continue to dub the thread and wrap forward through the
bend of the hook until all of the lead is covered and you are almost at
the head of the fly. As an extra touch, you can add a few hackle
fibers at this step to give the fly more realism, however as this fly is
more of an attractor rather than an imitator, realistic details such as
legs are not necessary.
4. Dub a small amount of black or dark olive Hareline dubbing
onto the thread and create a substantial head. A dubbing picker can
be used to pick out tiny legs during this step. Once the head is
created, whip finish and apply head cement.
5. That's it! Remember you can tie the Ice Caddis in
just about any color combination. It never hurts to have a few green,
orange and red ones on hand in various sizes so that you can be prepared
for any fishing situation. Tight lines!
Written By: Nick Pujic, Jan 2004
Photographs By: Nick Pujic © 2004 |
