Written by Mike Gentry

If you have been out on Oregon's rivers in the fall, you have noticed that the frequent caddis hatches increasingly include a "big brother".  The sizeable October Caddis rivals the Salmonfly in presenting trout with a full meal deal.  I'm a nympher (remind me to tell you of my unsuccessful travails with the Oregon Department of Transportation in attempting to get a personalized plate with that name), so the pattern included in this issue is the preadult stage.  It has few materials and is eay to tie, but is very successful when these morsels are on the menu.

Materials:

Hook:                           Tiemco 2302, #8

Thread:                        Orange

Ribbing:                       Small flat gold tinsel

Body:                           Burnt Orange Dubbing

Hackle:                         Partridge

1.  Wind the thread to a point slightly down the curve of the rear of the hook, and tie in a piece of ribbing.

2. Dub the body so it increases in girth as the dubbing "yarn" is wound forward o about a quarter inch behind the eye, and tie off and clip.

3. Wind the ribbing forward to the front of the body, with slightly increasing distances between the winds.  Tie off and trim.

4.  Select a partridge body feather and clip where the feather splines are about the length of the body or slightly longer.  Tie in the clipped butt with several tight turn of thread and wind the thread forward to jus behind the eye.  Then make three winds (hackle pliers allow a good grip on the tip of the feather) forward to just behind the eye and tie off.

5.  With your fingers, bring the hackle splines back over the body so that you can wind and build a fairly large head over the individual splines (keeping them feathered over the body).

6.  Finish the head with thread winds, clip and cement the head.

Either natural (rabbit) or synthetic dubbing materials will work, but I prefer the synthetic as it gives a sheen or sparkle to the body.  And the partridge soft hackle feather shade can vary from lighter to darker, depending upon what you are working with - it doesn't seem to make much of difference.  On a typical fall days, the adults generally start to emerge in the early to mid afternoon, increasing into the evening, and I fish this fly from late morning until late afternoon.  Give it a try.