Detached Body Caddis with Biot Wing

Depending on where your fishing in the world odds are there will be a Caddis somewhere ready to land on the water. The variables of this prolific fly are seemingly limitless. Most of the Caddis coming off the water in my neck of the woods are a steely gray that leans towards a warm bronze color as seen in the above photo. These little guys are generally what you see throughout the summer months but vary depending exact hatch and month.

I tie a lot of detached body patterns using my own dyed micro chenille. The Caddis fly in a few of it's life stages lends itself to using a wide gap hook such as the Kamasan B160. In tandem with the detached body I use dyed biots for wing cases.

The Detached Body Caddis with Biot Wing (click below images to enlarge)

Thread: Veevus 14/0 Gray or Brown
Hook: Kamasan B160
Wing: Book matched dyed bronze gray biots (left feather biot, right feather biot orientation~ both biot ribs meet at top portion of wing case, concave around dtached body see below photos
Dubbing: Beaver Belly
Legs: Dyed duck flank
Abdomen: Dyed Chenille Gray or Tan/Brown
Underwing: Aero Wing Dry Fly
Hackle: Rooster cape Bronze Gray~ dyed Ritt Gray then over dyed Ritt Tan

The Dying Process:
I have always dyed my own materials simply because the color palettes of many materials at retail are very limited. Depending on where you live insect colors are very subtle and vary throughout the season so as a frustrated fly tyer I have always dyed my own materials.
The dying process is very very simple and I urge you to try it! Find an old coffee maker, some white vinegar, and some Veniards or Ritt dyes. The recipe is as follows:

~8 Cups hot water that has run through your coffee maker 150 degrees max heat ( use a thermometer)
~2 Tablespoons white vinegar, mix into hot water
~Add 1 tablespoon of liquid Ritt dye to hot water, match your color ways stir for 30 seconds
~Add your materials once water has reached 150 degrees F
~Test dye times and take notes as you experiment!
~Once you pull your materials out of the dye bath immediately soak in cold water for a minute or so, then use a hair dryer to thoroughly dry. 

The above photo shows micro chenille that has been dyed using the process as described. The lightest above chenille is the original light gray color. The other four gray versions run from a warm light gray, a deeper value warm gray, a bronze warm gray, then finally to a dark warm charcoal color. Often micro chenille that comes off of the card is kinked and matted, once it is dyed and blow dried it puffs up again and retains its original shape.

If you wish to learn a lot about dying and bleaching materials Read A.K. Best's book Dying and Bleaching Natural Fly-Tying Materials, a book I purchased in my younger years. A.K. taught me how to dye and bleach when e mail first was available and I was fortunate enough to have a pen pal in Colorado for quite some time. He often sent me feathers through the mail and turned me on to Coq de Leon in the mid 90's. I have a binder filled with all of our correspondence back in the early 90's. I highly recommend all of his books from this very giving man!

This is a very simple fly to tie, and it is a fly that I always carry in my fly box. Hope you enjoy tying the detached bodied caddis, happy fishing.
~Clint Joseph Bova