The Poly Caddis ReDo
I love the Poly Caddis because it is fast to tie, rides high, can be pulled under to suggest a diving caddis, and catches fish. Gary LaFontaine used the Poly Caddis on a regular basis for just those reasons. In it’s original design, I just tied the wing in at the head and allowed it to extend back over the top of the hook. In the past season, I wanted to give the fly a little more realistic caddis appearance, so I began fussing with the way the wing is applied. What I came up with is just about as simple as the original fly, but is stronger and gives has a better look, at least to my eye. Here’s the way it’s been re-designed.
Step One. Apply dubbing thinly over the rear half of thee hook to form the abdomen.
Step Two. Tie in the poly yarn for the wing facing forward over the eye. Wrap the thread tightly, right to the eye, then back to the abdomen.
Step Three. Tie in an appropriate sized hackle.
Step Four. Wind the thread forward, wrap thee hackle “X” Style and tie off at the head. Spiral the thread rearward through the hackle to re-enforce it.
Step Five. Stroke the hackle on the top of the fly out to the sides, fold the wing back tight over the thorax and tie it securely at the back of the thorax. Tie off at the rear of the thorax. (1/3 of the way back on the shank) Trim the hackle off the bottom of the thorax. Place a good-sized drop of thin flexible head cement on the top of the thorax and allow it to sink in, re-enforcing the hackle and wing.