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Window Light Caddis Soft Hackle

by @john

Window Light Caddis Soft Hackle — a fly pattern by John
More by @john

CDC Soft Hackle · Wet fly

Morning light through a wisp of feather

A sparse caddis soft hackle on a size 14 wet-fly hook, rusty silk and dun CDC, for trout feeding on rising pupae.

A caddis soft hackle with a slim, segmented rusty body and a wispy collar sweeping back past the bend. It carries a natural dun CDC hackle over a silk body ribbed with fine tan thread, finished with a neat thread head.

Pattern
CDC Soft Hackle
Imitates
Caddis emergence, typically late spring through summer evenings
Hook
size 14
Tippet
5Xrule of three
  • Size 14 wet-fly hook
  • Rusty silk body with tan rib
  • Dun CDC collar sweeps past the bend
  • Swung or dead-drifted for caddis pupae
  • Sparse, quick tie

On the water

A soft-hackle wet fly swinging through mid-water

A thin rusty body with tight tan ribs, like a little wound spring. Behind the head, a loose cloud of dun CDC drifts back past the hook bend, every fibre catching the window light.

Swing it through a riffle when caddis start popping in the evening. Let it drift dead, then let the line tighten so it lifts toward the surface. The CDC breathes and traps tiny bubbles on the way up.

CDC wraps best when you take only two or three turns. More than that and the collar turns into a mop. Stroke the fibres back after each turn so they lie long and sparse.

A coiled leader, tippet spools and an open fly box on slate

Rigging

Tippet
5Xhook size divided by three
Leader
Nine feet, with fluorocarbon tippet to get it down
  • Tie on with 5X tippet so the fly swings freely and the collar can move.
  • Cast across and slightly down, mend once, then let the swing lift it at the end of the drift.
  • Add a small split shot a hand-span up the tippet to fish it deeper in fast runs.

Where and when

Hatch
Caddis emergence, typically late spring through summer evenings
Target
Trout
Water type
Riffles, runs and seams below broken water
Also fishes
Fishes well as a dropper behind a dry, on slow glides during a midday emergence, and on lake margins when sedges hatch.

Make it yourself

Beginner4 materials · 10 steps

Pattern
CDC Soft Hackle
Style
Wet fly
Hook
Wet-fly hooksize 14
Thread
Rusty brown 8/0
Fly-tying materials laid out on a dark bench

Materials in the order they go on the hook

  1. RibFine tan thread
  2. BodyRusty brown silk
  3. HackleNatural dun CDC
  4. HeadRusty brown 8/0

Details

Imitates
Caddisfly pupa
Colors
Rusty brown, Tan, Dun
A fly-tying vise holding a bare hook on a wooden bench

How to tie it

The steps, from first wrap to whip finish (10)
  1. Mount the wet-fly hook in the vise with the shank level.
  2. Start the rusty brown thread two eye-lengths behind the eye and wrap a smooth base back to just above the barb.
  3. Tie in the fine tan thread rib at the rear of the shank.
  4. Tie in the rusty brown silk and wrap it forward in flat, touching turns to about three-quarters of the shank.
  5. Spiral the tan rib forward in five or six evenly spaced turns and tie it off.
  6. Tie in a natural dun CDC feather by its tip, concave side facing the hook.
  7. Take two or three turns of CDC, stroking the fibres rearward after each turn.
  8. Tie off the CDC, trim the stem and sweep the collar back with your fingers.
  9. Build a small, tidy thread head just behind the eye.
  10. Whip finish and trim the thread.
Proportions (4)
  • Body: covers the rear three-quarters of the shank, slim and even.
  • Rib: five or six open turns, evenly spaced from bend to collar.
  • Collar: CDC fibres reach from the hook point to just past the bend.
  • Head: a small thread band no wider than the hook eye.
Tips (3)
  • Keep the silk flat by spinning the bobbin to untwist it before each few turns.
  • Pick a CDC feather with long, soft fibres so the collar flows behind the body.
  • Leave a short gap behind the eye before starting the body so the collar and head have room.
Common mistakes (4)
  • Too many CDC turns make a bushy collar; stop at two or three.
  • A lumpy body comes from overlapping silk; lay each turn flat beside the last.
  • Crowding the eye leaves no room for the head; measure the space before tying in the CDC.
  • Trapping fibres under the head; sweep them back firmly before your first head wrap.
A dozen-fly materials kit laid out on slate with its recipe card.
The kit

Every kit size

Materials only

Size 14 · Materials only · 12 flies

$30.10

$2.51 a fly

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 6 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Fine tan thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$6.951 pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · Materials only · 48 flies

$55.05

$1.15 a fly

Bought separately $57.95 · you save $2.90

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 6 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Fine tan thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$20.853 packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · Materials only · 144 flies

$128.92

$0.90 a fly

Bought separately $146.50 · you save $17.58

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 6 more

Every item in this kit · 7 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Fine tan thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$55.608 packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

With vise & tools

Size 14 · With vise & tools · 12 flies

$180.10

$15.01 a fly

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 15 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$6.501 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$2.951 spool
  • Fine tan thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$4.501 pack · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$6.951 pack

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · With vise & tools · 48 flies

$197.55

$4.12 a fly

Bought separately $207.95 · you save $10.40

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 15 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$132 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$5.902 spools
  • Fine tan thread$3.251 spool

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$92 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$20.853 packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

Size 14 · With vise & tools · 144 flies

$260.92

$1.81 a fly

Bought separately $296.50 · you save $35.58

Includes Wet-fly hook · and 15 more

Every item in this kit · 16 items

Hooks & beads

  • Wet-fly hook$351 × 100 + 2 × 25 · size 14

Thread & wire

  • Rusty brown 8/0 thread$17.706 spools
  • Fine tan thread$9.753 spools

Materials

  • Other material: Rusty brown silk$22.505 packs · From the recipe row "Body"
  • Natural dun CDC$55.608 packs

Finishing

  • Head cement$5.951 bottle

Tools

  • Rotary pedestal vise$791
  • Ceramic bobbin$141
  • Fine-point scissors$161
  • Whip finisher$91
  • Hackle pliers$71
  • Bodkin$51
  • Bobbin threader$41
  • Dubbing wax$41
  • Canvas tool roll$121

Guide

  • Printed recipe and tying stepsIncluded1

The creator

An illustrated portrait for John (an illustration, not a photograph)

John

@john

Tight line, quiet feet, zero slack.

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See everything by @john

Remixes

1 remix of this

Russet Mayfly CDC Soft Hackle — a fly pattern by John@john

Where this came from

fly pattern · made

1 remix

25 — from 1 remix, at the Derby's published weights, since . Views are not counted.

  • soft hackle
  • caddis
  • caddis pupa
  • wet fly
  • cdc
  • silk
  • trout
  • swing
  • emerger
  • size 14