Help on CDC flies

[fishosopher]

I read the other day that you are not suppose to put floatant on CDC flies. I felt sort of dumb because it seemed like everyone else knew this.

OK, someone tell me about CDC flies. I have several, especially Tricos. Of course they're in the fly box with everything else. Do I identify them by the white fuzzy material? Do I not put floatant on them? Is that the advantage? If they get wet, can I shake them in powder? Most importantly, what do trout think of them?

[fysh]

Hi Gator,
Here's some info that gives a good description of CDC and how it works.
Tying With CDC, by Hans Weilenmann

Using a good desicant powder is about the only way to treat CDC flies before fishing, and to help pull any moisture and fish slime from them while fishing.
You can use regular floatant on the body of CDC flies as long as the body is not made from CDC dubbing, just be sure and not get any floatant on the wing.

As far as what fish think of them......"YUM".

[peregrines]

Alligator, you must have missed that memo. The CDC works because of the little air pockets trapped in the feather barbules. Fly floatant just mattes everything altogether so the CDC feathers don't trap air

Yup, that white fuzzy stuff is them. They can also be dyed. They're super effective, It’s also easy to work with for tying. Especially on small flies like Tricos, and they tend to float right in the film like the naturals. If you tie, Hans is the man, and has alot of very effective patterns like the CDC Elk caddis imitation. If you tie, try and get a handle on the four different types of CDC feathers and the best ways to use them from the article that Fyshstkr linked. I use them for wings on really small stuff in place of hackle or deer hair on patterns like SparkleDuns size 20, and some emergers which are basically just nymphs with a short tuft of CDC.

I usually just try to air dry by false casting, unless they really get slimed, then they go into a dessicant like Frogs Fanny.

The only other option for CDC is using a mushroomy thing that you may come across in the woods, in which case you can make your own little blotter. Its common name here in the US is “Hoof Fungus”, if you want to poke around and see if you can find some in the wild (on the hoof?),
http://www.theflyfishingforum.com/fo...yone-6238.html

But you can’t charge big bucks for something with a name like that, so it goes by a more upscale name of Amadou in fly shops, where you can also buy it. It's sliced into a pad like a sandwich. Put the fly in, squeeze, and it blots it dry:

Amadou, the real thing- about 35 bucks
http://www.feather-craft.com/wecs.ph...y&target=HC183

Synthetic amadou (Samadou) about 6 bucks (but it would even be cheaper if they called it "Shoof fungus")
https://www.madriveroutfitters.com/p...fly-dryer.aspx

peregrines

[BigCliff]

I would use no gel floatant on them at all. I would try drying them a bit first, and then use something like Shimizaki's Dry Fly Shake to really dry them out. (might be dating myself, do they still make that stuff?)

And yes, CDC floats and attracts fish about as magically as possible, but after you catch a few and they slime it, its basically done.

[Greenwood]

CDC can be great stuff; there's just something about the way it floats in the film. As Cliff says it's a 'fish magnet'. But, as everyone has alluded to, it's also high maintenance stuff.

I usually try to squeeze the water out and/or blot it then use a brush full of Frogs Fanny on it. That'll usually perk it back up for awhile. But for smaller emergers, etc. it works so nicely that it's worth the little bit of extra aggravation.

[dshort]

I fish and tie with CDC a lot. I really like to use it for comparadun wings on flies from 14 - 22. And I like it for simple emerger patterns also. In my experience it's NOT done after a few fish slime it up. Simply rinse it off in the stream and re-apply Frog's Fanny after landing a fish. It will last all day long or until it get's chewed up. The Frog's Fanny does a great job of de-sliming the CDC.

[FISHN50]

I use CDC a lot on smaller drys. I cut 2 ea 3" squares out of one of those man made Chamois & pinned them to my vest. When I catch a fish I'll shake out the fly. I carry a small bottle of 90% rubbing alcohol & I'll put the fly in that & shake it up to clean it, Then squeeze it dry with the chamois & shake it up in some frog's fanny. This might take a min. or so & it makes the fly as good as when it came out of the fly box.

[tob1]

After a fish catch. Wash the fly in the riverwater. Dry it and apply CDC oil or CDC Gel. One product for removing the water from the fly( like amadou) and is easy to come over is women pad. As a product like Always that absorb the water very effective - Always.com Infinity: Regular
Trygve

[Joni]

FROGS FANNY HERE!
I like CDC tied right on the top...can be a great dry or tug just a little and it will go in the film and become an emerger....LOVE THEM FLIES