Peeping Caddis

Nymph imitating caddis, for grayling and trout. Intermediate.

A burnt-tipped chartreuse chenille larva peeping out behind a bushy hare's ear case, with a partridge collar where they meet and a tungsten bead at the eye, on a jig hook.

Materials

Steps

  1. Slide on bead: black tungsten bead Slide the black tungsten bead round the bend and up to the eye, small hole first.
  2. Attach thread Attach the thread at 90% of the way along the shank with a few turns and trim the tag end.
  3. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to the start of the bend in touching turns.
  4. Tie in: fluorescent chartreuse chenille Tie in the fluorescent chartreuse chenille so it sticks out three quarters of the gape behind as one piece. Colour the end black (singe it with a lighter). Burn the end black with a lighter first; tie it in on top with the burnt end pointing back.
  5. Tie in: partridge hackle Tie in the partridge hackle with a few firm thread turns. A small partridge feather, stripped to about ten fibres a side, tied in by the tip.
  6. Wrap thread Wrap the thread to 6% of the way along the shank in touching turns.
  7. Wind: partridge hackle Wind the partridge hackle forward to 6% of the way along the shank in 1 turns. One or two turns as a collar, stroked back over the larva.
  8. Tie off: partridge hackle Tie off the partridge hackle with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  9. Tie in: black wire Tie in the black wire with a few firm thread turns.
  10. Dub: hare's mask dubbing with plenty of guard hair Twist a thin noodle of hare's mask dubbing with plenty of guard hair onto the thread and wrap it forward to just behind the eye. Bushy, and an even cylinder rather than tapered: it is a case.
  11. Wind: black wire Wind the black wire forward to just behind the eye in 5 turns.
  12. Tie off: black wire Tie off the black wire with a few thread turns and trim the excess.
  13. Whip finish Form a small head, whip finish with 5 turns and cut the thread. Behind the bead; brush the case to pull out the guard hairs.

History

A cased caddis larva with its head and legs out of the case. Ralph D'Andrea counts it an old, familiar pattern, and nobody is recorded as its originator. Oliver Edwards and Graydon Bell's Peeping Caddis has the larva at the front, as it is in nature; the jig version here has the larva sticking out at the back and the weight at the eye. Hans van Klinken's LeadHead, another cased caddis, is weighted with a split shot that also turns the hook point up.

Fishing it

A heavy point fly that gets down fast, dead-drifted along the bottom while caddis larvae are drifting, with a lighter nymph above it. It fishes all year, best when the water is cold and the fish lie deep, and is a standby for grayling in winter. On a jig hook it rides point up.

Sources