Wings on caddisflies are always a hot topic when it comes to tyers around the world. There are the tried and true deer hair wing designs, gossamer cut wings made from synthetics, down wing feather geometries, and even stacked hair wings. They all have their merits and of course pitfalls when it comes to actually fishing them. For several years now I have been fishing with a caddis pattern that works for me. A few years back I posted a piece on my biot wing caddis patterns. So I thought I would resurrect it with some new insights.
Biots are probably one of my favorite natural materials to work with. Biots are translucent, waxy like the natural insect, easy to dye, extremely durable, and are cheaper than dirt! If you use turkey biots they are larger than most goose biots and you can make wings to cover the full spectrum of appropriate hook sizes.
When you purchase biot wings you get two opposing feathers. The leading edge of the biot has a stiff rib section, this is your top leading edge of your wing segment. The picture above shows how I bag my biots, left and right orientation. One bag is a left wing, one bag is a right wing. By organizing them this way you do not tear your hair out looking for each segment after dying them. I do not dye biots on the feather. Reason being is that the color does not saturate between the biots very well, the pre-dyed biots on the feather never really look consistent and the color range is too limited.
This is a very very easy pattern to tie once you have your materials set up and organized in front of you. You can easily tie up a few dozen in an hour.
The above photo shows two biots on top of one another. Notice the rib on top of the leading edge of both wings. If you were to only use a single biot feather you would have a rib on the top and the second opposing wing would have a rib on the bottom. Not only would it look funny but it will not line up correctly when you tie them in.
The below photo shows a half dozen fibers of Coq de Leon for an optional under wing.
Once you get both biots on your dubbed body tied in put a dab of head cement near the wing wraps this will further help reinforce them when a fish hits them. This particular pattern can take a real beating by fish and many of my biot wing caddis last season after season. The color ranges of this pattern are limitless. I tye this pattern up using a light ginger color way, dusky ginger, and medium dun Grannom coloration.
Slow Water Biot Wing Caddis
Hook: TMC 531 sizes 16-22
Thread: Veevus 10/0 or 12/0 medium dun
Dubbing: Beaver Belly medium dun
Wing: Medium dun Biot
Under Wing: Coq de Leon med Pardo
(optional)
Hackle: Medium dun
Antennae: Coq de Leon tailing fibers
light pardo
