Friday, February 9, 2018

Woodchuck Caddis

The woodchuck caddis....with groundhog day in the books and so much attention paid to this lovable rodent I chose to splash some attention his way also, be it a week plus from his day, better late than never. I'm not really sure who was the creator of this fly but it sure looks like a bit of Fran Betters influence in the fly.

The materials are woodchuck, dubbing, I used orange opossum, and brown and grizzly hackle.


As you can see it has a great caddis shape.


And it has super floating ability.


I tie them with a "hot spot" at the tail end of the fly. This one uses hot orange thread. I also use a yellow thread spot.




And yes they do work. I was able to bring a few to the surface on my last outing.









30 comments:

  1. A great looking caddis fly, Alan. That woodchuck hair makes for a better caddis profile than the deer or elk hair I use. I will have to get me some of the woodchuck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Parachute Adams
      Thanks
      Sam the profile is outstanding. The fly sits nicely on the water and gives the fish a good look at it.

      Delete
  2. Looks like a killer, Alan. I like the idea of the hot butt. I think this pattern is usually attributed to Eric Leiser.

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    Replies
    1. William Shuck
      Thanks
      Bill the hot butt just adds some variation that I think may be a plus.
      Eric Leiser..thank you.

      Delete
  3. Whether Fran tied it or not, when you use the orange possum dubbing it certainly looks like he did! Very nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Wittman
      Thanks
      Mark it does have a betters look. Bill said Eric Leiser gets the credit.

      Delete
  4. One of my favorite Caddis search patterns of pocket water. The footprint brings them up.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ralph Long
      Thanks
      Ralph the fly looks to be right at home in turbulent waters, good looks also.

      Delete
  5. lovely looking fly Alan, I've been playing this week with deer hair & cdc for caddis flies and am getting happier with them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. George
      Thanks
      George those materials are great for caddis imitations. A size 16 cdc caddis amazingly accounted for some of my biggest landlocked salmon.

      Delete
  6. Great fly ... I really like any fly that uses Woodchuck... it's a great material.

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    Replies
    1. Doug Korn, Fly Tyer
      Thanks
      Doug you, me, Fran Betters and so many others feel the same way.

      Delete
  7. They would certainly work out here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark I'm sure they work most places they are fished.
      Tied large they would make a good bass skater.

      Delete
  8. Give the groundhog/woodchuck his due, he makes a beautiful fly Alan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Howard Levett
      Thanks
      Howard he is so much more than just a weather guesser.

      Delete
  9. Alan i think you are starting to conver me into more uses for woodchuck. I really like that caddis. Sure fire Brookie fly. Thankyou.

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    Replies
    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad that fly has lots going for it, and the main point iy seems to attract fish...even in winter.

      Delete
  10. Alan
    Beautiful flies as always. I better they float like a battleship.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TROUT1
      Thanks
      Pete they float just like the "bomber"

      Delete
  11. Alan, are you using a standard size dry fly hook? I'm going to do some up in green also. Thankyou.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brad Basehore
      Thanks
      Brad I'm sure a standard dry fly hook would work.
      These were tied on Mustad 3906B hooks..size 12.

      Delete
  12. Great looking fly and use of Mr. Woodchuck. That fly would do wonders here in the Driftless area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Justin Carf
      Thanks
      Justin woodchuck is one of the better natural materials for fly tying, and is it durable.
      And they would work well in the Driftless.

      Delete
  13. Alan
    This is one fly that can get the attention of bluegill, bass, and the most obvious "TROUT"----as always fantastic job at the vice. Thanks for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bill Trussell
      Thanks
      Bill a fly like the woodchuck caddis would work well on most fish. Like I mentioned before that tied in a large size it would make a great bass skater.

      Delete
  14. Great looking fly and I have been successful with a similar pattern in the past. I have also used mink tail fibers as recommended in Len Wright's books and have in the past few years used some combinations of stiff rooster hackle for the wing. I tie about 8 different color and size variations down to a 22.

    A definite fish catcher and have fun with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NJpatbee
      Thanks
      Pat what does Wright call his pattern?
      I know it's early in the season for dries, but I'm looking forward to some great days with this pattern.
      Size 22 lots of credit to you.

      Delete
  15. Len Wright calls his pattern the "Fluttering Caddis" described in his books "Fishing the Dry Fly as a Living Insect" and "Fly Fishing Heresies". My tie is slightly different as I use a hook that is 4 sizes smaller than the size I am trying to imitate to allow for a longer down wing with a small hook that I find I can twitch better. So if I tie a Fluttering Caddis that appears size 12 I use a size 16 hook.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. NJpatbee
      Thanks
      Pat I have heard of this fluttering caddis, and may have tied it before. You concept of tying it on smaller hooks makes great sense.
      You do not tie in hackle on the body of your fly, or do you?
      I have to check back in my blog posts to see if I ever tied the "fluttering caddis"

      Delete