Tying a MayFly/Caddis Emerger by Davie McPhail.

[krallmi48]

Reread my question and I'm being dim... yes, yellow, brown dyed and natural CDC. More than anything, I'm curious if there is a difference between this fly as a caddis or a mayfly in the materials and the tie... length of wing, amount of wing material, dubbing type and placement, head colors, etc.

Mike

Lander, Wyo.

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi krallmi48,

I have fished many colours of this pattern and the most consitant is the pattern above, mainly with small mayfly species but by changing the colours to suit certain species will give you a good allround emerger pattern..I have tried different lengths of deer hair and cdc but I found very little difference to fish coming to it, size and colour are the trigger points...

I hope this answers most of what you asked...

All the best Davie

[krallmi48]

@DavieMcPhail

It does answer, Davie... thank you for making the time for it.

Mike

[krallmi48]

Hello Davie,

I was wondering what colors of thread and CDC you commonly use for these emergers. Was also wondering if there are tying differences between the mayfly and caddis in the title.

Thanks for your help...

Mike

Lander, Wyo.

[leecrotty1]

Hi Davie,

Great video,i have tried making this fly and it has turned out good but i havent fished it yet,i was wonderin how u fish it,what retrieve wud u use and wat time of day and wat time of year wud u use it,Thanks a lot

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi leecrotty1,

I would always fish this fly itself especially during a hatch as it's a good allround pattern tyed in most sizes representing whats coming off. I really like it at the beginning of the season for the spring olives in sizes 12s and 14s and then to a size 24 for BWOs..I wouldn't retrieve it at all on the river but on the lochs I may give it an odd tweek to get the fish to have a look but it is best to leave it to drift naturally...

All the best Davie

[30gills]

Davie

Where did you get your bug bond and your uv light.

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi 30gills,

I have sent you a link and some info about the bug-bond....ATB Davie

[fishermen4life1]

Hi Davie,

I copied this fly and landed a 12lb rainbow my biggest ever!!

thank you so much!

Cheers, from canada

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi fishermen4life1,

Well done to yourself for tying and fishing this fly successfully, and what a size of a rainbow to catch on a dry...

All the best Davie

[lukeyfc]

hi davie

love this fly davie i tied a few up the other day and caught lots on that fly i was just wondering what type of bobbin holder would you recomend thank you. best fly tier EVER

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi lukeyfc,

Well done on catching a few fish...The bobbin holder I use the most is the Tiemco heavy duty ceramic, remember to adjust the arms so that the thread runs smoothly from it as this is very important and your thread will not break as much..

All the best Davie

[insan011]

Hi Davie,

Thank you for sharing your talent with us and making us better fly tiers. I live in Bosnia and it is very difficult to find quality tying materials, and when they are around they are extremely expensive. I was wondering if you could point me to a decend UK online vendor that you know sells quality merchandise and has what we need. Thank you

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi insan011,

The biggest problem that I have heard about sending materials abroad is the cost of postage and whether the country will allow certain feathers or fur to be sent. What materials are you looking for as I may be able to recommend one or two companies?

All the best Davie 

[vo2lvo]

Hi Davie

Thanks a lot for this one.I tied this yesterday size 16 ,and today it gave me a brownie 2.3 kg.A cracking pattern.

Cheers.

[fishordie92]

Very interesting way to tie the caddis emerger, I had always tied mine just with a dubbing body and CDC wings pointed towards the front. Yours looks much better(and Buggier) than mine and most other flies I have seen. And finally, would you recommend this on heavily fished creeks? Thanks for putting this video on youtube.

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi fishordie92,

This fly has caught me fish many times when most other flies haven't worked that's why I would use it for both mayfly and caddis so I would recommend having a few tyed up in the colours that suit, but still tye your own pattern emerger.

All the best Davie

[pferdflecker]

I wish I knew what "CDC" is.

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi pferdflecker,

CDC is short for Cul-De-Canard, they are the small feathers which surround the preen gland of many water birds, the gland secretes an oil which helps keep the bird warm and most importantly afloat..

All the best Davie

[azwoolybugger]

Nice to see you tying on the small hooks. I just got in a box of TMC 2488 size 26 for a trip this summer. Thanks for the sharpie trick.

[pablohoney78]

Hi Davie, Do you tie any flies on painted or coloured hooks if so what flies and how do you paint or colour them? Or can you buy them i haven't been able to find any.

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi pablohoney78,

The only coloured hooks I have used are ones from the Charles Jardine range Grayling/Bug Red Hook which I used for a buzzers and bugs. I bought them from the Glasgow Angling Centre but I'm sure you could buy them from a few other places. I have also coloured normal hooks like Kamazan with pantone and permanent marker pens which I then coat the hook with varnish to hold the colour, this works very well again for buzzers..

I hope this helps you...

All the best Davie

[dunamisjc]

Love it davey. well done mate. keep it up.

[rudmerv]

Great tying - and such a simple pattern!

My concern is the hook size - I struggle with size 18 - does it really have to be a 22? Have you ever fished successfully it in a 14 or 16?

The general shape and trigger points would suggest to me that it should do well slightly larger too.

Thanks again for sharing your skills and patterns Davie!

[door2yourheart]

Beautiful tying Davie! Great pattern for those tricky, intense hatches.

[MrPatCoady]

Another wee beauty, you will make half deasent tyers out of us mere mortels yet.

Thanks very much for sharing Davie

[Troutsiders]

Great fly! Love the way you use permanent colored markers. Saves a lot of time & it works! Thanks for sharing!

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi Troutsiders,

Many thanks...

I use maker pens like this on a few patterns, e,g. spinners,midge(buzzers), caddis pupa and especially for small flies it saves a lot of bulk and tying time...

All the best Davie

[jonnymac9]

great little fly davie, i will knock a few of them up tonight. cheers jon.

[sbleiler]

You're the best thing on YouTube Mcphail.

But can someone please explain why everyone is so crazy about CDC? I hate it in dries. Three casts or one fish and it's a useless sinking mess! My experience is that it HOLDS water rather then repells.

maybe it's just the fast American rivers I fish.

Still love your pattern though!

[madaboottroot]

Hi Davie, I was wondering about wether it matters to use a berbed or barbless hook. People say it doesn't matter but I always lose fish when using a barbless hook. I rarely manage to land one. Why is this ?

[DavieMcPhail]

Hi madaboottroot,

I've used barbless hooks for a long time, when I was a fishery manager I always returned my fish and find that I can hang onto them just as well as with barbed. I feel it's down to having confidence in them and as well always keeping contact with the fish. If you prefer barbed hooks then there's nothing wrong with this...

All the best Davie

[door2yourheart]

@madaboottroot

Last week i hooked 9 trout and only landed 1 on barbless. OK 4 actually snapped me too! An unusual occurence, but i will still stick with barbless. To me, its the take that counts. Not to bothered if i land them or not, but it upsets me if a fish gets away with one of my flies hindering its feeding.

[arcticflyfish]

awesome Davie! Loved it, will make some for those tricky situations when the fish is feeding on small flies! Thanks!

[Kekermonger]

I have been searching for a good pattern like this for a while. Just in time! Thanks Davie!

[grayduster100]

Thanks for another cracking pattern. Liked the idea of colouring the thread to form rib and head. I'm off to the vice!

[Beastmastersb]

thanks Davie !

[hughgareth]

Thanks Davie,

That one doesn't look too difficult to do apart from the size.

Just for practice I have tied many of your patterns simply for practice, many of which will never see the light of day.

Many thanks again for your superb instructions.

Gareth