| By Barry Ord Clarke
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| House building caddis larvae are available in most waters all year round, and are an important segment of the diet of trout and grayling. There are many techniques that have been developed over the years from fly tying benches all over the world to imitate the house of the caddis larva, but this technique really gives the right impression. This is a pattern I believe was developed in the US, but other than that I can’t find any other information about it. The great thing about this pattern is if you trim the rubber legs close to the body you get the impression of a caddis larva house built out of gravel, but if you spin the rubber legs not so tight and trim them a little longer it makes for a great house made of vegetation and sticks. Also the rubber gives that extra needed weight when you need to get down deep, and not least, this is an extremely durable fly.
You may find that this isn’t the easiest pattern to tie at the first attempt as the rubber legs seem to have a life of their own, but after a few attempts it’s no more difficult than any other pattern. Try mixing colours and rubber types to achieve different effects. |
- Tying instructions:
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Step 1:
Place a bead head on the hook and your hook in the vice.
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Step 2:
Attach tying thread to hook and run a foundation of thread along the whole hook shank. |
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Step 3:
Cut 3 small strips ca. 2 cm long, of double rubber legs in various colours and diameters if available.
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Step 4:
Tie in the three rubber legs at the rear of the hook. If you are going to use heavy rubber legs, with a large diameter it is best to make a foundation of tapered loose dubbing on the hook shank first, otherwise the rubber will not flare as easily as fine rubber legs. |
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| Step 5:
Once they are secure you can pull on them to split the double legs into single. |
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Step 6:
Carry on with the same procedure, mixing the colours as you go along the hook shank. |
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| Step 7:
After each bunch of rubber legs is attached use the bead head to push the legs and pack them tightly. This will give a more compact body. |
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Step 8:
Attach more rubber legs until you have covered all but 3-4 mm of hook shank. |
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| Step 9:
Now you can trim the body. |
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Step 10:
Continue all around the body of the fly until you have the desired size and shape. |
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| Step 11:
Spin a couple of CDC hackles in a dubbing loop, just behind the bead head. |
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Step 12:
Wind on the dubbing loop brushing the CDC back over the body of the fly with each turn, so as not to trap the fibers. |
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| Step 13:
Now dub the tying thread with a little coarse dubbing with longish fibers and dub the head of the fly tight into the bead head. |
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Step 14:
Whip finish and remove the tying thread. |
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| Step 15:
Using an old toothbrush to brush out all the CDC and dubbing fibers, so they lie back over the body. |
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Step 16:
Then you have your finished rubber caddis. |
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