Goddard Caddis Tutorial

[bulltrout]

the Goddard Caddis is by far my most favorite dry fly to use when fishing our Eastern Slopes for cutthroat, brook, brown and rainbow trout...occasionally, i have even caught bull trout using this pattern...this patterns rides high even in rough water and is quite durable when tied properly...

 

here is a tutorial to try and simplify the tying of this fly...most people that i talk to in regards to tying this fly have the most trouble with the spinning of the hair and the trimming and shaping of the fly but, with a little practice, it's really quite simple...

 

Goddard Caddis (originated by John Goddard as tied by Andrew Burla)

 

Hook: TMC 100 or 100BL #10-16

Thread: 6/0 To Match Body Color

Body: Natural, Olive or Black Deer Hair or Carabou

Hackle: Grizzly or Furnace To Match Body

Antennae: Hackle Tips

 

1. Attach thread to the hook at the front and lay a base of thread to the rear.

 

 

2. Clip a small amount of hair (about the width of the gap when pinching hair between fingers) and clean out underfur and short hairs. Also trim the tips of the hair (as their diameter is too small for spinning) leaving a hair bundle about 3/4" long.

 

 

3. Hold the hair bundle along the shank of the hook while you make TWO loose turns of thread around the hair to hold it in place.

 

 

4. Gently pull down on the thread with medium pressure (half the breaking point of the thread) and allow the hair to flare around the hook. After the hook has flared, wrap three or four more tight (almost breaking point) wraps through the hair.

 

 

5. Move the thread to just in front of the the flared out hair (make sure the thread is directly in line of where the hair ends).

 

 

 

6. Repeat Steps 3, 4 and 5 with another hair bundle of the same size.

 

 

 

7. Use a hair packer or else an empty Bic pen tube to pack the second group of hair back into the first.

 

 

[bulltrout]

8. Repeat Steps 3, 4, 5 and 7 until you have covered 2/3 of the shank with hair.

 

 

9. Make a couple of half hitches to tie off the thread and then clip the thread off.

 

10. Take the "furball" out of the vise and make sure all the hair is coming off the hook straight (sometimes the hair from the first bundle gets caught on the hook barb or point).

 

 

11. Grasp the hair on the top side of the fly and move your scissors so that they are in a straight line parallel to the hook shank on the bottom of the fly approximately the height of the eye away from the shank.

 

 

12. Trim in one smooth cut to the bend of the hook.

 

 

13. Hold the hook by the point and barb and trim the hair on the top of the fly upwards on angle to form a wedge shape when viewed from the side.

 

 

 

14. Hold the fly by the hair on one of the sides and make a tapered cut on each side (keep the crotch of the scissors in line with the eye of the hook and trim outwards on a slight angle).

 

 

15. Pinch the fly's wing (the part that extends past the bend of the hook) between your thumb and index finger and make two cuts at a right angle to each other in order to form the caddis' "tent-shaped" wing.

 

 

16. What the final trimmed product should resemble (a wedge with a slight "tented" look at the rear). If you are stage tying, tie all your flies to this point and then continue.

 

 

17. Reattach the thread directly in front of the hair.

 

[bulltrout]

18. Select two appropriately sized hackle feathers, trim off the webbing, flare the hackles and strip about two inches of barbs off.

 

 

 

 

19. Tie hackles in as shown.

 

 

20. Move tying thread forward over the hackle tips evenly, building a smooth base over the tips, to approximately one eye length away from the eye of the hook. Make two figure eights inbetween the hackle tips to keep them splayed out from each other.

 

 

21. Place a small amount of head cement over the thread base you've just created and before it dries, wrap the first hackle forward keeping the wraps evenly spaced and tie off once you reach the thread.

 

 

22. Wrap the second hackle forward and tie off.

 

 

23. Pull antennae and hackle out of the way and create a small head under the antennae up to the eye of the hook (to keep the antennae tilted on an angle during drift).

 

 

24. Whip finish the head, trim the thread and any unruly hackle or body fibers out of the way.

 

 

25. Cement the head by applying to the base of the antennae and let it flow back into the hackle base.

 

[bulltrout]

26. The finished Goddard Caddis.

 

[albannachxcuileag]

Nice work on the SBS - pity about the photo limitations to a posting - need to get them extended for doing SBSs!

 

Actually it is the G&H Sedge - Goddard and Henry collaborated on this after studying the natural and combined their talents to produce a fly that is unsinkable and usually succeeds in bring the larger fish up to it.

 

For some reason we prefer caddis when it is still sub-surface and sedge when it is ready to take off!

 

I did a similar tutorial last year on our forum to demonstrate deer hair work and this fly is an excellent one for beginners to start on as it just needs the basics of hair spinning to succeed.

 

More please!

[Guest bigbadbrent]

it is the G & H Sedge, but over heres its known as the goddard caddis, wierd i know.

 

Great tie andy, have you ever tried spinning on a blank hook, supposed to flare a lot better (i havent tried)

[sirocco]

Thanks for the awesome tutorial. I'll definitely be giving this one a try.

[rusty]

Damn fine tie and good instructions. Thanks for taking the time.

[Inconnu]

Great tutorial! To answer a question, if you start your thread at the back end of the hook where the first bundle goes and then flare it on the blank shank, it should be easier. I was taught many moons ago to flare on a bare shank. That being said you did a great job on this pattern regardless.

[bulltrout]

thanks for the comments guys...just figured i would toss it up for the new tyers as a reference...

 

albanna...in regards to the classification of the G & H sedge vs. the Goddard, i always considered the one i tied to be a goddard caddis as the G & H sedge has an underbody of colored fur and the goddard doesn't...just what i was taught but i could be wrong...

[albannachxcuileag]

Check this link out, it is one of the resources I use from time to time as there is a good bit of background info on most of the flies - The English Fly Shop. Select the type of fly and sub-type and you will find a load of info below the commercial bumph.

[SteveM]

Thanks for posting this tutorial, DBT. I don't really tie(SJW's don't count, right?), but, I will

try fishing the Goddard's I've been carrying around for years. If they're good enough for

Dr. Bulltrout, they're good enough for Dr. Me!

[scotfly]

albanna...in regards to the classification of the G & H sedge vs. the Goddard, i always considered the one i tied to be a goddard caddis as the G & H sedge has an underbody of colored fur and the goddard doesn't...just what i was taught but i could be wrong...

 

 

drb, the G & H sedge and the the Goddard's Caddis are one and the same. Simply a case of the Goddard name carrying more esteem and poor Henry being forgotten about.

The lack of underbody is simply the way Goddard ties it now, it's not a different fly, more an omission.

[bulltrout]

whatever the case may be in regards to the name, i still highly recommend this pattern and hope that some of the new tyers give it a go to add to their boxes...

[Weedy1]

Thanks for the tutorial on this fly DBT. I have never really spent the time to learn how to spin properly, the tutorial was a great help.

[hydropsyche]

You're not the only I know praising this fly. I actually bought a couple of these patterns (rare for me) to try.

 

Nice SBS, DBT and good looking result. Thanks for taking the time.