Weekly Fly Tying Tutorial – Peacock Clacka Caddis

The Peacock (or Coachman) Clacka Caddis is one of the first patterns our owner Walter Wiese created after he began guiding in Montana. Certainly it was the first one to really take off. Tied in sizes #12 down to #16 or occasionally #18, this pattern is a good rough water caddis-style attractor pattern. In this niche, it fills in for the Coachman or Royal Trude, while being easier to tie and more buoyant, yet floating lower in the surface film.

 

In addition, the fly works well as a more imitative caddis pattern on fast-flowing rivers like the Yellowstone and Madison, both during the May Mother’s Day Caddis hatch and during the July Hydropsyche hatches. We’ll often fish the fly behind a bigger stonefly pattern such as a Chubby Chernobyl, while during the heaviest hatches we’ll fish it with a caddis pupa, an attractor nymph such as a peacock Fuzz Bastard (formerly “Hula Princess,” which is basically the nymph equivalent), or even a pink Clacka Caddis on the dropper.

Peacock (Coachman) Clacka Caddis – Recipe

Hook: #12–18 1xl dry fly.

Thread: 8/0 dark brown.

Abdomen: 2–4 peacock herls over super glue.

Wing: White MFC Widow’s Web or similar hot-dyed poly yarn formed into a loop that’s tied in horizontally atop the hook.

Hackle: Coachman brown saddle, slightly undersized.

Head: Chocolate brown or Pheasant Tail Ice Dub.

Tying Procedure

1. Start tying thread about 1/3 of the way back from the hook eye.
2. Secure a tuft of caddis amber Sparkle Emerger Yarn or caddis gold Zelon with touching turns to the bend. Trim the tuft to about a gape-width in length.
3. Secure peacock herls with a few touching turns, then spiral thread forward to the original tie-in point over the tag ends, then back to the bend. Trim peacock tags.
4. Coat underbody with superglue. While it’s still wet, wrap the peacock herl forward using the hanging thread as a guide (taking the turns behind the thread, pushing it forward).
5. Form a loop with a tuft of white Widow’s Web or similar fiber. Secure this loop atop the hook shank in a horizontal configuration, aka with the loop in a side-to-side orientation.
6. Secure a slightly undersized hackle immediately in front of the wing loop.
7. Trim wing butts at a 45-degree angle towards the eye and make a smooth(ish) thread base over the top, finishing behind the eye.
8. Lightly dub thread with Ice Dub, then wrap back to the base of the wing, finishing with one turn behind the hackle tie-in point. Wrap dubbing forward to the eye.
9. Palmer-wrap hackle in about 4 turns forward to the eye. Secure and clip excess.
10. Whip finish and clip thread.
11. Trim the hackle almost flat on the bottom of the fly.

How-To Video

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