Bastian's Floating Caddis

Cheech - November, 2018

I'll be honest, I didn't know about this fly until I saw it in the Fulling Mill catalog... (Yes, Fulling Mill is the main supplier for Orvis.) I think we have all been in that situation where the fish are aggressively rising during a caddis hatch, and your drag free drift is kind of not good enough anymore. I immediately was intrigued by the foam back and the soft hackle front because it was kind of the best of both worlds for these aggressive fish. Lots of times I'm torn between fishing dries in the surface film or greasing up a soft hackle, but this fly kind of covers that for you. Fish this fly on the swing, dead drifted, or as a trailer behind a bigger, more visible dry fly. Oh yeah... And use bigger tippet so you don't break a bunch of them off due to aggressive strikes.
Instead of me butchering the history of this fly, HERE is a link to how this fly was developed told by Don Bastian himself. All I'm going to say is that you NEED some of these in your box!

Material List

Hook: Daiichi 1180 - Standard Dry Fly Hook - 14
Thread: 8/0 UNI-Thread Waxed Midge - Camel
Shuck/Wing: Sparkle Emerger Yarn - Cream
Body/Head: Nature's Spirit Snowshoe Rabbit Foot Dubbing - Brown
Ribbing: Mirage Tinsel - Opal - Small
Shell: Rainy's Evazote Foam - Black - 1/8"
Soft Hackle: Whiting 4B Hen Cape - Black
Soft Hackle Alternate: Nature's Spirit Starling Skin
Tools Used: hard-as-hull-head-cementdr-slick-razor-scissors-4tiemco-midge-whip-finisherc-f-design-hackle-plierstiemco-tying-tweezers