I thought I'd share a few more tidbits on the Puff Daddy; the cdc fly pattern we did the recent tying video on with Tightline Productions. I'm told that the original was meant to roughly imitate a mayfly emerger/dry/cripple in or on the water surface. It is purposely tied so that it doesn't matter what side the fly lands on. The fly works great not only for mayfly hatches, but also caddis, midges and as a general imitation when you can't figure out what the hell the fish are taking. All you need to do is change the body color, cdc color and size to imitate whatever it is the trout want for a meal.
In the video, the cdc is wound as you would a hackle to get the desired effect. This works well, but sometimes I like a more "puffy" version, and to that end the best way to get that effect is to use a cdc puff feather. The problem with the cdc puff feather is that they do not have stems, so the fibers need to be tied in so they envelop the hook shank to get the same effect as winding a hackle. Here's how I do that:
In the video, the cdc is wound as you would a hackle to get the desired effect. This works well, but sometimes I like a more "puffy" version, and to that end the best way to get that effect is to use a cdc puff feather. The problem with the cdc puff feather is that they do not have stems, so the fibers need to be tied in so they envelop the hook shank to get the same effect as winding a hackle. Here's how I do that:
After dubbing and wrapping the body, take a cdc puff and separate it roughly in half so you don't have too many fibers, and lay one of the halves over the head with the tip going back over the body. Make a couple of loose wraps over the fibers just in front of the body, and then using your fingers, work the fibers around the hook shank. Once you have them evenly spaced, tighten your thread wraps and make a few more turns to bind the fibers in place.
(Click on photos to enlarge)
Next, closely clip the butts off and then finish off the head with a few wraps to cover the clipped butts, and then make a 3 or 4 turn whip finish.
Use your thumb nail to break the fibers off at the bend of the hook as shown below. If you are not sure how to do this, refer to the video.
When I was in Montana, there were times when the fish wanted a spent caddis, and although the original version of the Puff Daddy worked on these fish, I thought I'd tweak the fly a little by adding spent wings of zelon as shown below before adding the cdc. It worked, too. I crushed fish the next couple of days on this pattern when the trout were on caddis.
Tie some up. The Puff Daddy is another simple trout fly pattern that I think will stand the test of time.
Sharpen your hooks.
2 comments:
The fly will stand the time, unlike the "rapper" it was named after..:):):)
The more you fish this fly, the fewer dry flies you will carry.
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