Fun with CDC (and spring daydreaming)

[Adam Wellington]

There was a tying demo at the local shop yesterday, the presenter tied mostly CDC patterns. I felt inspired, so I tied some standards with CDC hackle just to see what they look like. Please excuse my total lack of photo skills, I cant find my mini tripod.

Here's a Sulfur tied with a CDC wing and hackle.



and a Hendrickson (not quite)

All of this snow we are getting up here just has me dreaming of some warm Spring days on the stream.

Here are a couple ties that I will be using on the early outings this year:

Copper John



Quick and dirty zebra midge pattern



The CDC hackle was tied using a Marc Pettijean "Magic Tool" that I found 1/2 off a couple weeks ago. That thing is really cool! if you use the right thread you can split it with the bodkin and insert the CDC into the thread to spin (rather than creating a loop).

[Dejon Hamann]

Good looking flies Adam.  I think you may have mentioned, but how did the switches turn out?

[Jackson Hoose]

ive seen that sort of CDC hackled fly before, specifically the sulphur..  ive never fished a dry like that before..  do the fish really like that sort of thing?  to me it almost seems too buggy... im sure it probably catches fish though.  is there such a  thing as too buggy?

[Adam Wellington]

Too buggy is like having too much money 

CDC has a nice imprint on the water, as it has lots of little finger things on the feathers. I haven't tried flies like this yet, but I have tied caddis type flies with CDC wings that definitely work well.  The more I look at it, the "Hendrickson"s  shuck is way too full.

Dejon,

I finished my brother's switch and it is really nice. I've been lazy as of late and my switch is still waiting in my basement for me.

[Dejon Hamann]

Too buggy is like having too much money 

CDC has a nice imprint on the water, as it has lots of little finger things on the feathers. I haven't tried flies like this yet, but I have tied caddis type flies with CDC wings that definitely work well.  The more I look at it, the "Hendrickson"s  shuck is way too full.

Dejon,

I finished my brother's switch and it is really nice. I've been lazy as of late and my switch is still waiting in my basement for me.

I'll have a new 13' setup in time for Dropbacks.  We should plan to do some "2 step'n" together.  Have you sought out your lines/tips yet?

[Adam Wellington]

I'll have a new 13' setup in time for Dropbacks.  We should plan to do some "2 step'n" together.  Have you sought out your lines/tips yet?

I have my line in order, and have enough polyleaders to do some damage. I'm in!    The Cattaraugus 2-step, do they make cowboy wading boots?

[Paul Bourcq]

Im sure you guys use it but tiemco dry magic is the best cdc gel around.  I use it then frogs fanny to keep it floating.  I bought a 5 pound bag of fumed silica (frogs fanny) online......much cheaper.

[Todd Oishi]

Great looking patterns Adam!

I like to use CDC wherever possible when tying dries, as it significantly improves their ability to stay high and dry...

[Adam Wellington]

Paul,

I normally don't treat my CDC flies with any liquid, just the frog's fanny (fumed silica). I've seen the tiemco stuff, but never thought I needed it. Is it really worth using?  Does it protect the CDC from fish sliming?

Todd,

Thanks, I'm still green with the CDC stuff but it just looks so alive that I want to try to incorporate it into my standard patterns. Using the Magic tool makes CDC much easier to deal with. I think my next attempt will be a CDC parachute fly.

[Paul Bourcq]

Adam I think it helps alot.  I put a very very small amount on my fingers of the cdc gel then work the cdc with a little.  That will keep it floating for a while.  Then  when things start looking weird i will frogs fanny it and continue to use frogs fanny.  Essentially im just using the gel for the first pass.  It does work though.

[Adam Wellington]

Paul, Thanks for the info, I will look into grabbing a bottle of the stuff.