Radical Caddis

Tan Radical Caddis

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Tying Instructions

1. Prepare the body by stringing three Glass Beads, Midge size, onto a piece of heavy monofilament. Melt the end of the monofilament enough to hold the beads.

2. Apply a drop of epoxy on the beads to encapulate into a teardrop body. I’m using Loon’s UV Knot Sense which hardens under a UV Lamp or direct sun.

3. Place a 3/32 Copper Bead on a TMC 2487 hook, size 14 or 16. Slide the bead up to the eye of the hook and wrap some 0.015 leadfree wire behind it to fill the cavity of the bead.

4. Attach the thread to the hook shank and secure the leadwraps. Wrap the thread back to the shank where the thread will hang just above the barb of the hook.

5. Place a small number of Ginger Z-lon fibers as an underbody at this tie-in position above the barb of the hook. The Z-lon should extend about a half of the gap of the hook from the bend. Secure the tag end with thread wraps.

6. Trim enough monofilament from the bead body to fit just behind the leadfree wraps. The front of the bead body should be at the tie-in position above the barb.

7. Secure a small number of Brown Z-lon fibers to the top of the shank above the tie-in position in front of the bead body. These fibers should not extend much beyond the bead body. Trim the tag ends and secure with thread wraps.

8. Dub a small amount of Tan Hare’s Ear Mask with Guard Hairs just in front of the bead body. This will cover the thread wraps and give the CDC plume some support.

9. Place a small CDC plume dyed Dun on the top of the hook shank in front of the Hare’s Ear dubbing. Pull the tag end of the plume until the ends of the CDC are about at the midpoint of the bead body. Secure with thread wraps.

10. Attach a piece of flashabou to both sides of the hook shank behind the copper bead. The flash should extend just beyond the bead body.

11. Dub a throax using Mercer’s Buggy Nymph dubbing Amber Caddis and Peacock Ice Dubbing mixed together. Leave enough room for the collar.

12. Tease the thorax material with a bodkin. You really want to make this buggy.

13. Prepare a partridge feather by clipping off the tip and place it with the concave side down above the hookshank just behind the bead.

14. Pull on the partridge stem to adjust the length of the legs. They should not extend beyond the midpoint of the bead body or bend of the hook. Secure with thread wraps.

15. Attach three strands of Borwn Ostrich by it’s base to the hook shank just behind the bead. Wrap 3-4 times and secure with thread wraps.

16. Whip Finish.

Materials to Order Material, click the link
Hook	TMC 2487 #14-16
Thread	Uni-thread Tan 8/0
Head	Copper Bead
Weight	0.015 Leadfree wire
Underbody	Ginger Z-lon
Body	2 Tan and 1 Root Beer Glass Beads strung w/monofilament and coated with Loon's Fly Finish, thick and Natural Hare's Mask with Guard Hairs
Overbody	Brown Z-lon and Dun CDC
Thorax	Peacock Ice Dubbing and Mottled Nymph Caddis Cream
Collar	Brown Ostrich Herl
Flash	2 strands of Pearl Flashabou
Legs	Partridge Hackle

Radical Caddis

Sierran guide and fly tier, Rick Fox, developed this pattern around 2006 and tested it in the waters of the Little Truckee. The pattern is very effective as a caddis pupa and has become one of the most successful caddis pupa patterns in the West. The fly is marketed by Umpqua Feather Merchants and can be found in most fly shops. The unique feature of this pattern is the encapsulated bead body that is tied as an extension. The epoxy covering gives the sheen of a caddis trapping gas molecules and rising through the water column.

Trapped Gas molecules

You can visually see the two gaseous areas of the pupa on Ralph Cutter’s photo above. That is what this pattern mimics. The Z-lon material and CDC, used as an overbody, provides additional material to actually catch small air bubbles and add to the realistic nature of this pattern. The thorax is a mixture of Buggy Nymph dubbing and Ice Dubbing. When picked out, this provides a very “buggy” appearance with strands mixing into the CDC and Z-lon. The Ostrich collar provides that dark head from which the partridge legs emerge. This pattern has had a lot of thought behind it with a good use of materials. Try the Radical Caddis as a dead-drift through runs, riffles, and pocket water.

Green Radical Caddis

Hook	TMC 2487 #14-16
Thread	Uni-thread Tan 8/0
Head	Copper Bead
Weight	0.015 Leadfree wire
Underbody	Ginger Z-lon
Body	3 Green Glass Beads strung w/monofilament and coated with Loon's Fly Finish, thick and Natural Hare's Mask with Guard Hairs
Overbody	Ginger Z-lon and Olive CDC
Thorax	Caddis Green Ice Dubbing and Mottled Nymph Light Olive
Collar	Brown Ostrich Herl
Flash	2 strands of Pearl Flashabou
Legs	Partridge Hackle

Brown Radical Caddis

Hook	TMC 2487 #14-16
Thread	Uni-thread Tan 8/0
Head	Copper Bead
Weight	0.015 Leadfree wire
Underbody	Ginger Z-lon
Body	3 Brown Glass Beads strung w/monofilament and coated with Loon's Fly Finish, thick and Natural Hare's Mask with Guard Hairs
Overbody	Brown Z-lon and Dun CDC
Thorax	Peacock Ice Dubbing and Mottled Nymph Caddis Cream
Collar	Brown Ostrich Herl
Flash	2 strands of Pearl Flashabou
Legs	Partridge Hackle