bamapatriot
05-29-08, 04:36 PM
Spun deer hair caddis
This one should float for days…
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j13/erictheall/DSCN3027.jpg
Hook: size 10-18 dry fly. This is a 12, and you can see that the hook gap is already crowded. If you can spin deer hair on an 18, be my guest.
Thread: 6/0 UNI - tan
Hackle: blonde/white saddle hackle
Body: spun and packed deer hair (chartreuse & natural)
Flash: krystal flash
Antenna: tan paintbrush bristles
Wing: stacked natural deer hair
Tying instructions:
1) Hook in vise, thread on hook. Wrap back to the bend
2) Strip the bottom ½ inch from the hackle feather and tie in at the bend with the feather extending over the bend. Leave at least ¼” of stripped hackle stem exposed.
3) Clip and clean a small bunch of chartreuse deer hair. Tie in and spin it at the bend. Since this will be trimmed short, the tie in point can be fairly close to the butt end of the hair. Pack it using a packing tool. I don’t have one, so I used the ink tube from a standard ball point pen. It was just big enough to fit over the eye of the hook.
4) This is where my cheap side takes over. Rather than clipping and cleaning another bunch of hair, I pull all the tips of the hair up and clip them off even with the butt ends. This gives me another bunch of deer hair to spin and eliminates waste. Using this method, I find I can usually spin 3 bunches of hair from one clipping.
5) Once you have spun and packed 2 or 3 bunches of chartreuse, switch to natural and spin and pack 5 or 6 bunches of natural. Stop when the hair if about ¼ shank-length from the eye after it has been packed.
6) Tie off and clip the thread. Trim the deer hair flat on the bottom, and rounded and tapered on the sides and top. A double-edged razor (broken in half) is probably best for this, but all I had was a pair of scissors. BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT THE HACKLE!!
7) Put the hook back in the vise, and reattach the thread.
8) Palmer the hackle forward. Take care not to trap the trimmed deer hair. When done correctly, the hackle stem should bury itself into the deer hair, and the deer hair should be tight enough to not show a gap where the hackle went in. Leaving the last ¼” or so of the hackle stem bare (as indicated in step 2) mean that the hackle fibers will start about half way into the chartreuse hair.
9) Secure the hackle feather just in front of where the packed deer hair ends and trim.
10) Tie in 8 strands of crystal flash on top of the hook.
11) Tie in the antenna. Use a figure-8 wrap or 2 to separate them.
12) Clip, clean, and stack a bunch of natural deer hair.
13) Tie it in on top of the hook just ahead of where the packed deer hair body ends. The tips should be even with the back end of the fly. DO NOT LET IT SPIN!
14) Once it is secure, take a few soft wraps over the wing just behind the tie in point. This will help keep the wing ‘down’.
15) Take a few wraps through the hair butts, working the thread forward, but trying not to trap too much hair. Take a few wraps under the antenna to prop them up and whip finish.
16) Cut the thread.
17) Trim the deer hair so that the angle of the head follows the slope of the wing. DON’T CUT THE ANTENNA!
18) Trim the krystal flash the same length as the wing
19) Trim the antenna to the desired length. Longer antenna look good, but tend to get wrapped up in the tippet more easily.
20) At this point, I like to trim of some of the hackles under the fly, similar to a Thorax-style tie. This helps the fly land and sit correctly.
21) Add a drop or 2 of head cement, and go fish.
This should make a great indicator fly. I’m going to try spinning the head and wing and clipping it flush underneath to see if this gives a more ‘finished’ looking fly. I’ll update this post if it does.
- Eric
This one should float for days…
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j13/erictheall/DSCN3027.jpg
Hook: size 10-18 dry fly. This is a 12, and you can see that the hook gap is already crowded. If you can spin deer hair on an 18, be my guest.
Thread: 6/0 UNI - tan
Hackle: blonde/white saddle hackle
Body: spun and packed deer hair (chartreuse & natural)
Flash: krystal flash
Antenna: tan paintbrush bristles
Wing: stacked natural deer hair
Tying instructions:
1) Hook in vise, thread on hook. Wrap back to the bend
2) Strip the bottom ½ inch from the hackle feather and tie in at the bend with the feather extending over the bend. Leave at least ¼” of stripped hackle stem exposed.
3) Clip and clean a small bunch of chartreuse deer hair. Tie in and spin it at the bend. Since this will be trimmed short, the tie in point can be fairly close to the butt end of the hair. Pack it using a packing tool. I don’t have one, so I used the ink tube from a standard ball point pen. It was just big enough to fit over the eye of the hook.
4) This is where my cheap side takes over. Rather than clipping and cleaning another bunch of hair, I pull all the tips of the hair up and clip them off even with the butt ends. This gives me another bunch of deer hair to spin and eliminates waste. Using this method, I find I can usually spin 3 bunches of hair from one clipping.
5) Once you have spun and packed 2 or 3 bunches of chartreuse, switch to natural and spin and pack 5 or 6 bunches of natural. Stop when the hair if about ¼ shank-length from the eye after it has been packed.
6) Tie off and clip the thread. Trim the deer hair flat on the bottom, and rounded and tapered on the sides and top. A double-edged razor (broken in half) is probably best for this, but all I had was a pair of scissors. BE CAREFUL NOT TO CUT THE HACKLE!!
7) Put the hook back in the vise, and reattach the thread.
8) Palmer the hackle forward. Take care not to trap the trimmed deer hair. When done correctly, the hackle stem should bury itself into the deer hair, and the deer hair should be tight enough to not show a gap where the hackle went in. Leaving the last ¼” or so of the hackle stem bare (as indicated in step 2) mean that the hackle fibers will start about half way into the chartreuse hair.
9) Secure the hackle feather just in front of where the packed deer hair ends and trim.
10) Tie in 8 strands of crystal flash on top of the hook.
11) Tie in the antenna. Use a figure-8 wrap or 2 to separate them.
12) Clip, clean, and stack a bunch of natural deer hair.
13) Tie it in on top of the hook just ahead of where the packed deer hair body ends. The tips should be even with the back end of the fly. DO NOT LET IT SPIN!
14) Once it is secure, take a few soft wraps over the wing just behind the tie in point. This will help keep the wing ‘down’.
15) Take a few wraps through the hair butts, working the thread forward, but trying not to trap too much hair. Take a few wraps under the antenna to prop them up and whip finish.
16) Cut the thread.
17) Trim the deer hair so that the angle of the head follows the slope of the wing. DON’T CUT THE ANTENNA!
18) Trim the krystal flash the same length as the wing
19) Trim the antenna to the desired length. Longer antenna look good, but tend to get wrapped up in the tippet more easily.
20) At this point, I like to trim of some of the hackles under the fly, similar to a Thorax-style tie. This helps the fly land and sit correctly.
21) Add a drop or 2 of head cement, and go fish.
This should make a great indicator fly. I’m going to try spinning the head and wing and clipping it flush underneath to see if this gives a more ‘finished’ looking fly. I’ll update this post if it does.
- Eric