Hi,

As most of us are all suffering with cabin fever I decided to think of better times and dry fly fishing. This in my opinion is the most versatile dry river pattern in the world (and probably will work on stillwaters). Of course I don't claim to be the original tyer of this- its based on Fratniks F fly- But the number of ways this fly can be fished I don't think is realised by many. Give this fly to a novice in fast water on a river- if he or she can only cast 10 feet- no problem- the antithesis of good dry fly fishing- DRAG- with this fly it can be an advantage- as soon as drag sets in I've seen bow waves move towards it and then its engulfed- twitched across the river on a hot summer day it can draw takes from anywhere- it can be bouyant enough to fish nymphs under- last but not least after a long drift- pull it under with a couple of sharp tugs and fish it wet- it works wonders!

Tying the Cul de Canard CDC dry Caddis

Any comments or equally versatile flies appreciated.

Jonathan.http://www.flyforums.co.uk/images/smilies/smile.gif

I would say the most successful dry for me would have to be the parachute Adams, closely followed by an elk hair emerger, dont get me wrong i have odd days where one particular pattern is killing but when considered over the season the adams has done the most damage...

The F-fly has caught fish for me but i wouldnt have a panic if i turned up on the bank without any in my box unlike the Adams. i get what you are saying about versitility but... it just doesnt seem to catch as well for me.

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Klink-hamer for me. Excellent SBS by the way.

Hi Martin,

I agree especially with the emerger (one of my favourites when tricky large fish are rising in a March Brown hatch)- the Adams for me has always been love hate- this is personal but I hate hackles (hook guards!)- yes I know you trim them. I wasn't really claiming the fly to be the most succesful but just the most versatile.

Regards Jonathan.

Hi Jonathan,

Interesting variant, and a very nice pattern. I hope you don't mind me using one of your images from your link.




However:

Versatile - yes.

Dry fly - no.

Not a dry fly, not a proper one. It's an emerger. The body would be in the surface and not on the surface.
It'd be too effective - tantamount to cheating.

I believe there have been lengthy threads, almost wars, on this subject here. Suffice to say the pattern certainly wouldn't be allowed on a famous dry fly only beat that I've fished, and hope to again. I should be sent home if the keepers if they even saw it in my box. Quite right too...

A good SBS that J, thanks.
I reckon even my limited talents in the tying department could manage those.
Hasn't CDC taken over big time in the last few years, I wasn't keen at all on it at first, found it awful stuff, but now I am as hooked as the trout.
Steven.

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"A glint of sun has warmed the air,The flies will soon hatch out, To lure and tempt from their deep lair, The bonnie speckled trout." SKB tackle supporter. I love Furled Leaders.

Maybe not the most verstaile but the Jingler has been a very good crippled dun imitation. Works wonders on Scottish freestone rivers such as the Tummel and Tweed.

Walker

Without reopening the dry/not dry argument for mildly moist flies, perhaps universal acceptability under dry rules is a factor in versatility.

Hi I've always considered it a wonder material- perhaps I'm biased because I won a river comp using a CDC dry or emerger (Its a dry o'nt Northern rivers I fish tha knows!!- sorry Ephemerella I couldn't resist). A couple of years later I was in another final and was fortunate enough to be drawn with the great John Tyzack- As it happens the weather destroyed my plan to fish small dries and I didn't fancy sprinting around the river dropping nymphs behind every stone I could find. It peed down- So I just enjoyed my fishing. In the afternoon it stopped raining- In the final session JT was 70 metres below me above the bridge at Bolten Abbey doing what he does best- crawling up the river on hands and knees carefully presenting nymphs. 20 minutes from the end he moved. Now if I was fishing in comp mode what I then did would seem stupid- I went to the water just left by one of the greatest river anglers England has produced- Using the sedge pattern in the link I caught 4 trout in as many casts in water JT had just spent 45 minutes on (I think for 6 or 7 small trout)- All the fish were 25cm plus- This was at the end of a week where all the water had been hammered. It can be a very effective fly.

Regards Jonathan.

Hi jonfish123
this fly is very popular in my contry,we make them in many diferent colours,sizes and it is very efective in grayling fishing too

regards mj