Fly Tying

ØDirections: Attach thread and make a smooth layer of thread along the hook shank. Start at the back of the hook shank at the bend and form a dubbing loop with a Dubbit tool. To get the best look with your dubbing the dubbit loop technique works best in this situation. Insert your dubbing material in the dubbing loop and twist a tight dubbing loop and begin wrapping your abdomen to about 2/3 up the shank. You can also tease the fibers out underneath the hook to give it a more bugging look. Next take a piece of swiss straw about 1/4 inch wide and 1 1/2 inches long. Trim one end of the straw to form a rounded end. Tie in your swiss straw with the rounded end hanging back off the hook shank about 1/4 inch. The swiss straw should wrap around the hook slightly. Prepare your hackle or partridge and tie it in by its tip. Make about 3-4 turns forming a collar of hackle, forcing the fibers to face back. Dub the head of the fly with a darker dubbing. Leave a tiny bit of room behind the hook eye. If you're going to add antennae tie in two wood duck fibers a little longer than the straw sheath. Have one fiber on the left side and one fiber on the right side. This step is optional. Whip finish.

ØComments: This past August and September I was able to do very well with this fly before and after a caddis hatch, usually in the evenings. Tan and brown colors were the most successful. I had most of my strikes on or before the swing. Great caddis pupa, next to the Deep Sparkle Caddis Pupa, in which I have caught fish on using a pupa pattern. Just like the name implies, it's very realistic especially when it gets wet and slicked back. The swiss straw gives it a sort of glow that caddis pupas have.