CDC & Elk Caddis
Curtis - August 11, 2011
This classic caddis pattern was originated by Hans W Weilenmann, a great fly tyer from the Netherlands. The beauty of this pattern, in my opinion, is its ability to gently skim the surface of the water when given a twitch. This is a very similar action to a caddis adult skittering on the water. In addition to the added motion the flowing CDC fibers give it on the water, it also floats very nicely and is relatively durable. The CDC fibers also multi-task as legs, antenna, wings etc so they serve many purposes when it comes to imitating caddis flies. Also, because we're dealing with CDC, you typically don't want to treat the fly with gel-based floatants, so instead dress the fly with dessicant to restore is flotation. So give this pattern a try. It's simple, effective and deserves a place in your caddis fly collection.