Thursday, July 26, 2018

The BA Caddis...Try One

The "BA Caddis" is a fly I first tied about five years ago. I was looking for a dry fly large enough to fish larger waters such as the Farmington river and especially the western Maine rivers namely the Magalloway, and the Rapid. The fly could also serve the angler on lakes and ponds for other fish. The opportunity to fish the larger rivers presents itself several times a year and the BA Caddis is put into service but most times I'm fishing small streams so I fish this fly and I'm happy to say it works well there too.

The fly looks similar to an elk hair caddis or a muddler and carries a little of both in its construction. It's tied on a streamer hook usually size 10 or 12, it has a tail, dubbed body which colors, that's varies, a yellow underwing, and the main wing is elk hair or deer hair.


Below are a few variations of the BA Caddis...you can see the different body colors and wing colors.






One of the larger brook trout to take the BA Caddis.


My personal best Farmington river wild brook trout. It took the BA Caddis in a swift section near the bank.









19 comments:

  1. Hi Alan, A good pattern for beginning novice fly tiers. Caddis patterns are easy to tie and effective to fish. Neatness does not seem to matter. Even messy ties will catch trout.

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    1. John Dornik
      Thanks
      John yes it is. And the more fly tyers the the better it is. Fly tying is not that difficult and I encourage everyone to try their hand at it.

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    2. Those brook trout obviously like that fly. I do need to dust off the tying vise that a friend sent me, as well as the tying tools that I recently bought. The only problem is that my friend has sent me so many different flies that I'll need at least two more lives to fish them all. I'll just have to go fishing more often!
      Kind Regards,

      Steve.

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    3. Steve Hynes
      Thanks
      Hello my friend form down under... yes the brookie does have a fondness for the big caddis.
      Fly tying is a quiet pleasure. You can tie several flies or tie just one. The thoughts that run through your mind about the large brown that will be tricked into taking that home tied offering. Well worth it.

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  2. I've ordered a fly-tying vice ... to begin with my creations will probably scare the trout into submission, or scare them away. regards, John

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    1. The Two Terriers
      Thanks
      John that's sparkling good to hear. Some of the most awful flies have taken a lot of fish and I can assure that is the truth. Best to you.

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  3. Nice brookies. I'm going to set in tying for Yellowstone country here in the fall. This BA caddis is a nice surface attractor for me. Ill tie some! A little faster to tie than my royal coachmen, too.

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    1. spike
      Thanks
      Spike the BA caddis is well suited to fast water. They are simple to tie and can take those sharp brookie teeth.

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  4. If I ever get back on the stream, I'll give it a shot.

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    1. Mark Kautz
      Thanks
      Mark buddy it's not if, but when, and hopefully that's soon.

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  5. Alan
    Impressed with both flies, like the contrasting colors in the darker fly. Do you use any floatant when fishing both. Thanks for sharing

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    1. Bill Trussell
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      Bill, bright fly on a bright day, dark fly on a dark day..
      I do use floatant.

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  6. Nice looking fly. I do well with large flies (stimulator) on small streams, brookies love them, browns do also but not as much as brookies, bet that fly would do just as well.

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    1. Unknown
      Thanks
      I wish I knew your first name.
      The stimulator is a great fly on small streams. It represents many things that wild fish love to strike.
      Tie up a BA caddis and let us know how they work for you.

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    2. Unknown would be me. I posted from work and came up as Unknown. Will have to give it a try, but no doubt it will catch fish.

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  7. Such beautiful fish! As I've mentioned before, any type of caddis is going to be an automatic favorite of mine. I'm convinced they all work. #2 is great!

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    Replies
    1. Howard Levett
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      Howard your spot on when you call a caddis a wonder fly.
      That fellow Al Troth really created a super fly.

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  8. Great looking flies and fish there Alan!

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  9. excellent Caddis pattern... thanks for sharing...

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