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The Miracle Caddis

7K views 10 replies 5 participants last post by  SDHflyfisher 
#1 ·
With the succesful conclusion of the 3rd Annual event, I thought I'd post the fly that it is central to the event; the Miracle Caddis.

Hook: Daiichi 1182, Crystal Finish, size to suit
Thread: Gudebrod 6/0, color to suit
Abdomen:Gudebrod EZ Dub (for speed) or Scintilla (for scruffiness), color to match natural
Thorax: Scintilla #83, Ripe Olive
Tail: 4-6 crinkled Antron fibers
Wing: fine, natural deerhair

For speed, during the Tie-A-Thon, I use the EZ Dub for the body; that's great stuff and very durable!

A tying sequence can be obtained in the Winter 2004 "Flyfishing and Tying Journal", page 96.

(Flytyer: From a previous thread, I'd have smoked you in the whip finishing contest, even after 23 hours and 501 flies, but it would have been fun! Recorded time: 76 seconds from an empty vise to a completed fly)
 

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#4 ·
Don,

The smoke you saw was from the friction of the thread sliding over your fingers or out of the bobbin at a great rate of speed!

Seriously, this is a great fly that is so close to the effectiveness of LaFontaine's Emergent Caddis, while being easier and faster to tie, that it should be in all trout fishers boxes in several colors and sizes.
 
#5 ·
where there's smoke...

Ahhh, Flytyer, there was no smoke as there was no Flytyer and hence, no contest.

I deduce from your message that you have had good success with the fly, which is good. It is a more simple tie than the LaFontaine pattern but does share a similar profile. LaFontaine's pattern and the Mathews' X-Caddis were the two that the Miracle Caddis was drawn from with more influence coming from the X-Caddis.
 
#6 ·
Don,

Although I prefer the LaFontaine Emergent Caddis, I tied a lot of flies, when I lived on the Missouri River in Montana, that left the overbody off because they were much quicker to tie; thus, I was able to make a bit more money by tying them that way. There were several others I knew who did the same; however, none of use ever called it anything other than a simplified LaFontaine Emergent Caddis. This was back in early 1980's.

And yes, it is nearly as effective as the LaFontaine Emergent Caddis and I think a bit more effective than Matthews X-Caddis because it rides lower in the water more like an emerging caddis. I used to carry LaFontaine Emergent Caddis and Troth Elk Hair Caddis in many sizes and colors when I lived in the trout paradise known as Montana. I never carried the Matthews X-Caddis because although good, it was not as effective as Lafontaines Emergent Caddis and Troth's Elk Hair Caddis. A person could do far worse than tie the "Miracle Caddis on their tippet.

As an aside, I would run into Gary quite often on the upper Clark's Fork River and sometimes on the Missouri and Big Hole Rivers. He was a great guy who always enjoyed his time astream. His knowledge of caddisflies was astounding.

I've also had the priviledge of running into Al Troth on the Big Hole, Jefferson, and Beaverhead rivers. He was always a gentleman and these chance meetings were most pleasant.

I was also fortunate enough to see Troth, LaFontaine, and Charlie Brooks among others tie the flies for which they were well-known in the years I lived in Montana.
 
#8 ·
Don,

Only my tush as I ran into their driftboats and got knocked on my keister.

Seriously, it was very easy to meet well-known anglers and tyers on the rivers of Montana. If you lived there and fished as much as you could, you were bound to run into and get to know some of them. I'm sure there are other members of this forum who have met and gotten to know some of the luminaries of fly fishing and tying.
 
#10 ·
Sean,

There are a lot of excellent tyers who do not have a national or regional reputation; however, their tying is as good as anyone's. Keep in mind that just because someone is not well-known, it doesn't mean s/he is not an excellent tyer from whom you can learn a lot. The vast majority of the best tyers do not seek name recognition or national reputations, they simply work on tying great flies.
 
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