There's a not-so fine line between perfection and train-wreck in the fly fishing world. Having a train-wreck of a cast or presentation, we know is not good but perfection isn't always that successful either. It can make us ridged and less natural and keeps us from adapting and reading our surroundings. It's kind of like a singers voice or the sound of a really cool guitar. We like to hear some imperfections in the performance. It makes it real and draws us in. It creates interest. There's somewhere in the middle we all get to where what we do works for us and it's not that we don't continue to learn or strive to be better but it's a skill set and a style we can build off of that makes it unique to the individual and allows us to be successful. There isn't one right way. It is art.
As this pertains to tying flies, having perfect wraps or always the exact amount of dubbing will definitely promote consistency but there is something that I've found even more important. It's making a bug look buggy and often that comes from not being so perfect. It's like taking a hairs ear and dropping it in the bottom of the boat and then stepping on it and crushing under your foot and then tying it onto your leader. It just looks buggier.
I was never a very good fly tier. I was given a kit as a gift about 10 years ago and there are still tools in there that I have no idea what they are supposed to be used for. I've picked up some things from guys like Mike Kuhnert and even Mark Raisler and John Arnold, sitting in on fly tying nights during the winter months but I never really took a class or studied it at all. I've also benefited from watching a couple videos and then much like my music, I just went for it. Some things turned out and some-not so much. One thing that has worked out for me however, is this version of an elk hair caddis I call the Labrador.
At first look, this fly is just an elk hair caddis. You've seen a gazillion of them and there are different colors and sizes but this one is a little more special-at least to me. I know I've told the story before but here it is again. I had a chocolate lab named Chase when I started fly fishing. He was the best fishing partner on the planet. We explored dozens of streams together and learned a ton about Montana, fly fishing, and each other. I think those that came in contact with us can attest to how well he knew me.
He wasn't always that great of fishing partner though. When we first started out, he would run upstream from me about 50 yards or so and then jump in and swim back to me completely messing up the hole I was trying to fish so I'd yell at him and then we would head further upstream and of course, he'd do it again. At some point he figured it out, realizing that if he wanted to see fish come to the net, he would have to stop screwing up my holes so he learned to stand right along side me and watch until I hooked up. (You can go to my YouTube channel and see him in action.)
Anyway, I'm not going to take full credit for the idea of using Chase's undercoat for dubbing as that actually came from Tracy Allen of Adipose Boats. He told me of a buddy that used to use his lab's hair or maybe it was him; who knows but I thought it was a pretty good idea so I decided to give it a try.
Chase's undercoat was the perfect color and because it wasn't real "clean," meaning it had a lot of guard hairs in it and imperfections, it just looks really buggy. I also started wrapping a little green ice-dubbing as an egg sack and I got to tell you, it's what I use about 90% of the time when fish are on caddis. Even in the slow flat stuff, they won't leave this little bug alone. The problem is, Chase died a few years ago and I'm running out of his undercoat...bummer.
Check out the link below and the next time you're on the river with you're best fishing partner, rough him up a little bit more and give him just a little more love for me.
YouTube Video of the Labrador
Keep 'em where they live...
Peace buddy, you're still with me.
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