Fly Tying Inventory
CDC Deer Caddis
CDC Deer Caddis is an adult caddis tied by Cheech that holds up well and sits high, with a soft, insect-like look. A blended squirrel and UV lavender Ice Dub body sits under a full CDC wing, and the hackle is deer hair spun in a thread loop instead of a wrapped feather. The hair stands out around the fly and helps float it, and the same hackle technique carries over to other dry flies. Fish it as an adult caddis during a hatch. Tied here on a size 14 hook.
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Materials
Ice Dub, UV Lavender, blended into the squirrel
UV Lavender
TroutHunter Premium CDC, Caddis Dun (or Swiss CDC Super Select Grade, Khaki Campell)
Caddis Dun
Brown deer hair, spun in a thread loop for the hackle (or Nature's Spirit X Caddis Deer Hair, brown)
Brown
How to Tie the CDC Deer Caddis
- 1
Step 1
Make the dubbing ahead of time. Chop the Ice Dub into pieces of about 1/2 inch and mix it with the gray squirrel in a coffee grinder.
A couple of quick bursts in the grinder is plenty.
- 2
Step 2
Mount the hook in the vise, start the thread and lay a thread base back to the bend.
- 3
Step 3
Dub the thread with the blend and wrap a slim body forward from the bend, leaving the front of the shank bare for the wing and hackle.
- 4
Step 4
Gather CDC fibers in a CDC clamp and trim them from the stems to make a full bunch for the wing.
- 5
Step 5
Measure the bunch so the tips reach just past the bend and tie it on top of the shank at the front of the body. Trim the butts and cover them with thread.
- 6
Step 6
Cut a bunch of brown deer hair, clean it and even the tips in a stacker. Pick the bunch up in the clamp.
- 7
Step 7
Form a thread loop just ahead of the wing and hang a dubbing spinner in it.
- 8
Step 8
Slide the hair from the clamp into the loop so it spreads along the thread, then release the clamp.
- 9
Step 9
Spin the loop to lock the hair in a chenille-like rope, with the fibers radiating out from the thread.
- 10
Step 10
Wrap the rope around the shank in front of the wing, stroking the hair back as you go. Tie off the loop behind the eye and trim the excess.
- 11
Step 11
Whip finish behind the eye and trim the thread.
- 12
Step 12
Pick out any trapped fibers and trim strays so the hair stands evenly around the shank.
Watch Tying Tutorial
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgHyKyS7qJU
Credit: Cheech / Fly Fish Food