The Spent Partridge Caddis is another great little fly from the vise of Mike and Sheralee Lawson. This pattern imitates a spent caddis, after it has laid its eggs and is dying, as well as a healthy adult. It is a simple pattern to tie and gives a good profile change to picky fish that have seen it all. I will note that I usually wait to trim the hackle until I am fishing as the fully hackled version works quite well for a skittering adult. I trim the hackle off the bottom when I want a lower floating profile.
This fly only takes a couple minutes to tie and adds some good variety to your box…you do need more than the old Elk Hair Caddis, so get to work!
Materials Needed:
Hook: TMC 100 #12-20
Thread: UNI 8/0 Black
Abdomen: Olive Superfine Dubbing
Wings: Matched Hungarian Partridge Body Feathers
Hackle: Brown and Grizzly Rooster Neck
Thorax: Peacock Herl
Step 1
Start the thread at the sixty-five percent point on the shank and wrap a thread base back to the bend.
Step 2
Dub a reversed taper abdomen that is fatter at the back and tapers down at the front up to the mid-point on the hook.
Step 3
Select two mottled brown Hungarian Partridge feathers from the hide. Place them outside to outside so their curves are opposed with the tips even.
Step 4
Measure the feathers so they are equal in length to the shank of the hook. Place the feathers over the hook as shown. Make sure you have the thread hanging at the front edge of the body and that you have the feather fibers bunched together at the tie in point. You do NOT want to tie the feathers in by their bare stems.
Step 5
Hold the feathers in place with your thread hand thumb and index finger. Execute a pinch wrap over the base of the feathers, cinching them down to the shank at the front edge of the abdomen as shown.
Step 6
The wings should flare out slightly over the body. Form a narrow thread band over the butt ends of the feather to secure them.
Step 7
Cut the remaining butt ends from the hook and build a smooth thread base over the stubs. Return the thread to the base of the wings.
Step 8
Select one brown and one grizzly rooster neck hackle feathers that have barbs equal to about one and a half hook gaps. Prepare the feathers by stripping the fibers from their bases; exposing the quills for a length of about three eye lengths. Tie the feathers in at the front edge of the wings and wrap forward over the quills to the back edge of the index point.
Step 9
Select three or four peacock herls and clip their tips so they are even. Tie the peacock herls in by their tips at the front edge of the wings and wrap over the protruding tips to the back of the index point.
Step 10
Wrap the peacock herls forward to the rear edge of the index point and tie them off. Clip the excess.
Step 11
Palmer both hackles forward over the peacock thorax with four or five turns. Tie the hackles
Step 12
Build a smooth thread head and whip finish.
Step 13
Trim the hackle flush along the bottom of the hook as shown. Trim it flat across.
Step 14
Finished fly, top view. Notice the angle of the wings.
Step 15
Finished fly, bottom view. Again, note the angle of the wings as well as the shape of the abdomen.
Step 16
Finished fly, front view. Note that the hackle is trimmed flush and flat across the bottom of the fly.
Step 17
Finished fly, side view. Note the shape and length of the wing and the abdomen/thorax proportions.
