Dicosmoecus pallicornis …THE OC…*TUTORIAL*

This is the tutorial for the “Brick Back” October Caddis (Variant) that was designed by Skip Morris…one may also use black mono eyes for the head…I prefer the bead…the color for this pattern’s abdomen may be adapted to the naturals in other specific areas…there are five different species of October Caddis…this is one…

1. Place the bead on the hook…this is a TMC 2302, # 12, using a 7/64 black brass bead. Starting at the 1/3rd. point, wrap a thread base back into the bend of the hook. Lay down about 12-13 wraps of 0.20 lead or lead sub. wire and cover with thread wraps. Over the top of this wire, lay down about 9-10 wraps of 0.15 lead or lead sub. wire. Leave about 5-6 wraps of the bottom wire at the rear of the hook – exposed. Cover all of this with additional thread wraps (3/0 or 6/0 Brown thread…this is Uni). In some instances, I will then coat all of this with head cement…one may also run the base layer of wire all the way up to the bead if additional weight is desired.

THIS is the dubbing mix I used for the abdomen…

It was cut into small portions and mixed in this:

A couple of taps on the top suffice…I don’t like ripping everything to shreds with the blades…

2. Wax the thread ( I use Overton’s WONDER WAX) and spin on about 2- 2 1/2 inches of dubbing mix. Create a TIGHT, THICK ball of dubbing, with crisscrossed turns, at the rear of the hook by twisting the dubbing while holding it in thumb and forefinger …

3. Tie in a strand of brown Zelon. Bind the Zelon down with thread turns back into the dubbing ball…then half-hitch…

4. Dub about 7 inches of waxed with the dubbing mix and create a dubbing loop…(for larger hooks one might have to dub as much as 9-10 inches of thread)…twist the loop with a dubbing twister (this one is from Tiemco – I have others)…

5. Hold the Zelon strand up with he left hand ( if you are right-handed) and place one or two turns of the dubbing loop around the hook, this depends on the thickness of one’s loop…eyeball it and add as needed…pull the Zelon strand over the dubed section and down to the right, place a wrap over the strand… continue this procedure up the length of the hook until 5-6 sections are created…tie off and cut the Zelon then two half-hitches…cut the thread before the next step…

6. Take a bore brush, angle/ bolt cleaning brush or this gizmo I made from hook and loop and a popsicle stick and vigorously brush the dubbing material back, towards the rear of the hook…

7. I do this with almost ALL of my dubbed abdomen Caddis Pupae…HALO effect…

8. Snip the excess at the bend with sharp scissors…

9. Attach thread and tie in a looped strand of brown Zelon…make the single strands, on each side long-ish…cut loop and half-hitch…

10. Wet finger tips and pull both strands vertical…snip them at an angle…

11. Lookin’ good…

12. Tug the strands GENTLY, downward…

13. Gettin’ there…

14. Tie in a speckled hen neck feather ( this is amber/brown) about 2x larger than normal for the hook size…I do not strip one side of the feather and I tie it in by the base facing away…clip stem and half-hitch…

15. Before wrapping the hackle 1 1/2 turns…I bomb proof it again-with head cement on the thread wraps…

16. Sweep the hackle back, cover tip with wraps of thread and clip remaining feather stubs  hanging off the hackle pliers ... Dub the tying thread with Uv Ice Dub, Brown ( I LOVE THIS STUFF ) and wrap behind bead…place a drop of head cement on top of the bead and sweep the thread through it, as the whip finish is completed..snip the tying thread…I like these English Hackle pliers:

17.Take the completed fly and…

…fish it dead drift in here, or on the swing, working towards the bank where the naturals leave the water on shoreline rocks and become adults…MORE …HERE

BACK to BAETIS….

PT/TB