Tired of greasing your fly just to keep it afloat?
“Extended Caddis” floats like a cork, and foam is a material I’ve started using more and more in my patterns — partly because the bodies become incredibly realistic, but also because the buoyancy is simply phenomenal.
The Klinkhammer hook from Hanak works great for so much more than the name suggests and has become one of my go-to hooks for extended body patterns.
Start by “pinching” the foam with pliers or a similar tool to create the segmentation in the body, then tie in the material that forms the actual extended body. One small detail I like adding is a touch of marker on the “tail” for extra realism.
Cow Elk forms the wing, and we finish the fly with a dubbing loop consisting of a 50/50 blend of Snowshoe Rabbit Dubbing, Olive + Squirrel Hybrid Dubbing, Black Pepper.
The combination creates a lively thorax with great contrast and movement in the water.
The inspiration comes from Fliesbyemet, and I highly recommend checking out his Instagram for more creative patterns!
Psst: Ask The Fly Expert about “Extended Caddis” for the complete materials list, which stays saved while you navigate the site.
Materials:
- Thread: Nano Silk 50D
- Hook: Hanak H390BL Klinkhammer
- Body: Foam Cylinder, Tan
- Wing: Selected Cow Elk, Bleached
- Thorax: Squirrel Hybrid Dubbing, Black Pepper
- Thorax: Snowshoe Rabbit Dubbing, Olive
- Color marker: Color Markers
