How to Tie a Fluttering Caddis

The fluttering caddis is a simple dry fly designed to imitate the erratic movements of an adult caddisfly. Several variations of the fly exist, but all of the patterns use a hackle thorax that allows the fly to skate across the water. The hackle supports the body of the fly, and lightly twitching the rod tip adds motion without sinking the fly. The fluttering caddis requires intermediate fly tying skills to wind and tie the hackle in a uniform design.

Things You'll Need

  • Vise
  • Standard dry fly hook size 12 to 18
  • 8/0 black thread
  • Black hare's mask dubbing
  • Dubbing wax
  • Deer hair
  • Brown hackle
  • Whip finisher
  • Scissors
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Instructions

    • 1

      Clamp the hook in the fly tying vise. Start the fly tying thread at the hook eye and wrap it forward to the hook bend.

    • 2

      Dab a thin layer of dubbing wax on the thread. Cut a clump of fur from a died black hare's mask. Blend the fur by separating the fibers with your fingers. Apply a thin layer of the fur against the thread. Twist the fur between your middle finger and thumb to spin it on the thread. Wrap the dubbing two-thirds of the way down the hook shank. Make even wraps to build a uniform body.

    • 3

      Cut a thin clump of deer hair fibers. Comb the underfur out of the hair with our fingers. Measure the hair to match the length of the hook shank. Hold the base of the fibers on top of the shank, one-third of the way above the hook eye. Make six tight thread wraps to secure the fibers to the hook shank.

    • 4

      Select a brown hackle feather with fibers measuring twice the distance of the hook gap. The long measurement is intentional and necessary to support the fly on top of the water. Stroke the tips of the hackle fibers against the natural direction to expose the tip of the stem. Hold the tip of the stem on the hook shank, immediately behind the body and wing. Make six tight wraps to secure the hackle to the hook.

    • 5

      Wrap the thread to the eye of the hook. Hold the base of the hackle feather and make subsequent wraps until you reach the thread. Stroke the fibers with your fingers on each wrap to prevent fibers from becoming trapped under the stem. Make six tight thread wraps to secure the hackle at the eye of the hook. Trim the excess hackle away from the hook with sharp scissors.

    • 6

      Tie 10 half-hitch knots at the eye of the hook with a whip finisher. Trim the thread from the hook with the scissors.