On The Fly

      "Fly tying is a school from which we never graduate"

TYING NEWS

    The Southern Oregon Fly Tiers invite you to attend their next meeting, Tuesday, April 14, 2009, 6:30 p.m. at the Madrone Hill Mobile Home Park community building near Gold Hill. Tiers need not be experienced, and those with all levels of skill are welcome. Participants are asked to donate a fly to the free raffle held at the end of the meeting. Each meeting a member is encouraged to demonstrate a new or different skill, from simple to difficult. For more information, call Dan Kellogg at 773-4724. DIRECTIONS: Take Gold Hill Exit #40, off of I-5 and go west, toward Jacksonville, 1.3 miles, until you reach the brick entrance way to the Madrone Hill Mobile Home Park on the right. You’ll pass a golf course parking lot on your left shortly after leaving the freeway. After you turn right into the mobile home park, proceed to the community building which is located about 100 yards ahead on the left. The address is 8401 Old Stage Rd. Please park your vehicle on the bare dirt in the parking lot to avoid the wooden septic covers in the grass.

PATTERN OF THE MONTH - Garcia's Mother's Day Caddis

Hook:           Daiichi 1170 or equivalent standard dry, size 14-18.
Bead:           Small green glass seed bead
Thread:        Olive 8/0 to secure the bead & Black 8/0 for the rest of the fly.
Abdomen:    Olive/brown Superfine dubbing.
Underwing:  Pearl Crystal Flash, Red Crystal Flash, Pearl Flashabou.
Overwing:    Bleached or blonde elk hair.
Hackle:        Dyed brown saddle or neck hackle.
Head:          Black thread.

Tying Instructions:

1) Mash the hook barb and slide the bead onto the hook. Put the hook into your vise and slide the bead down the bend resting on the vise jaw. Start the thread above the point wrapping back to the bend. Slide the bead up to the thread and bind the bead in place with wraps behind and in front of the bead. Whip finish and clip the olive thread.
2) Start the black thread one eye width behind the eye, and lay down a thread base back to the bead.
3) Dub the thread and wind it forward forming a tapered body covering 2/3 of the hook shank. Let the thread hang at this position.
4) Now cut three strands of pearl crystal flash, one strand of red crystal flash, and one strand of pearl flashabou (cut each strand to 2-inches long). Tie these five strands in the middle at the front of the abdomen. You now have ten strand ends. Pull all of the strands back over the abdomen to form the underwing, and take a couple thread wraps back to secure them. Cut all ten of the strands even with the back of the hook bend.
5) Select a small bunch of elk hair, stack it, measure the clump so the tips reach just past the hook bend, and tie the elk hair on top just in front of the abdomen. Clip the butt ends at a taper towards the eye and secure the butt ends with thread wraps.
6) Select two correctly sized hackle feathers and prepare them by removing the fluff and web. Tie in the feathers by the butts at the base of the wing, and wind them forward 4 or 5 turns. Tie them off and trim the butts. Be sure to leave room for the head.
7) Form a small, smooth thread head, whip-finish the thread and apply cement.

   Greg Garcia of Colorado developed this version of the Mother's Day Caddis (MDC). The green glass bead at the bend imitates the egg sac of a female coming back to deposit her eggs in the evening. Greg enjoys good success at all stages of the hatch cycle with this pattern. He believes that anytime is a good time for caddis.

TYING TIPS

   The MDC is an easy tie using common materials. The concept should be effective for any caddis hatch at any time. Just vary the size, the body, the wing colors and the hackle to match the naturals. So tie some up, give them a test flight and let me know how you do.

Tie One On,
Dan Kellogg (you can contact me at FLYGUY@EZNORTHWEST.COM)